By Ted AYALA

Rising costs of acquiring water from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) have forced the Crescenta Valley Water District (CVWD) to adopt a 2011-12 budget that rests upon rate increases to be passed down to its customers.

According to the new budget, CVWD expects to raise an estimated $8.2 million in revenue from the proposed rate increases. Proposed rate increases, which are pending a final approval in September, will not be implemented until 2012. The first proposed rate hike would be a 4.9% increase in January 2012 followed by a 3.2% increase the following June.

The rise in costs from the MWD is owed in large part to widespread water conservation measures which has sapped the agency’s revenues. The CVWD relies on the Foothill Water District (FWD) for a major portion of its water, which, in turn relies on the MWD.

A source of friction was the present budget’s reliance on $10 million in bonds to help maintain the GWP’s infrastructure.

CVWD board member Judy Tejada loudly voiced her disapproval of the budget.

“There is a lot of gray area here,” she said. “The ultimate cost to our ratepayers is unknown. How is our financial committee going to nail this down?”

Fellow board member James Bodnar reminded his colleagues that approval of the bond measures has yet to be approved.

“The board has not made a final decision whether or not we would get the $10 million in bond money,” he explained.

The importance of passing the budget in a timely manner was urged on by board member Ken Putnam, who also reminded that the budget may be amended as needed later.

“This isn’t about bond money versus pay-as-you-go. This is about getting a budget out on time. We’ll adopt the budget, but with the caveat that the financial committee examine the details that need to be refined,” Putnam said.

Board member Bodnar chimed in: “This budget isn’t a blank check to spend $9 million.”

Ultimately, the CVWD board voted three-to-one in favor of the new budget, with Judy Tejada voting against it and Kerry Erickson absent from the meeting.

By Maddy PUMILIA

The Crescenta Valley Water District at Tuesday’s public meeting motioned to have staff finalize the district’s 2011-2012 budget using bond measures rather than a pay-as-you-go method.

With the current proposal, CVWD will be issued bonds to fund capital improvements within the next five fiscal years. It will also create a $1.2 million reserve to fund capital improvements when the district goes back to a pay-as-you-go strategy entering the 2016-2017 year. It will also fund some of OPEB, a program that helps retired water district employees. The bonds will take 30 years to repay, with one benefit that the rate would gradually increase. The total cost of the bond is unclear as it depends on many factors including interest rates, issue costs and legal fees among other data. The interest rate will probably be in the high-four to low-five percentage. Director James Bodnar said the interest rates would probably never be as low as they are now.

“The thought is to spread the cost to future residents,” Ron Mitchell, CVWD secretary and treasurer, said.

One capital improvement would be at the Glenwood Operation Facility. The project will take care of piping and coding. The system needs to be replaced. It’s been operating for 14 years, longer than the original estimate of between eight to 10 years.  The project will initially cost $125,000 and will be under the 2011-2012 budget. Other projects include a new removal plant at Mill and other pipeline replacements.

“We’re falling behind,” said General Manager Dennis Erdman. “There are times where things need to be replaced.” Erdman pointed out that some pipes need to replaced for fire safety.

“As time goes on, our pipes get older and older,” said Director Judy Tejada.

The board hadn’t looked at how the bonds will affect low income seniors’ bills. They were quick to say they needed to pay attention to seniors’ needs before they set the rates for customers.

The district has been conflicted on whether to use bonds or a pay-as-you-go strategy for future budgets. With a pay-as-you go strategy, capital improvements would most likely be postponed. The board had been split 3-2 on which proposal to use. However, at Tuesday’s meeting only one director – Judy Tejada – was opposed to using bonds. She said that there is no interest on reserves, which would have been used with the pay-as-you go plan.

“If we don’t go with a bond, we won’t have sufficient funds for capital improvements,” said Bodnar.

With the bonds, the average initial price for each customer would be an extra 8%. Attending audience members Tuesday evening weren’t too thrilled about the increased rates. One woman pointed out that if CVWD raised rates again, people would conserve water. There would be less revenue – something she said the board should take into consideration. The customer added that she couldn’t even afford medical insurance, so the increased rates really affected her.

“This is a terrible recession. This is a hard time,” said Greg Wilkinson, who has lived in La Crescenta for 30 years. Wilkinson submitted a letter to the board writing, “Our choices should not be limited to the pay-me-now or pay-me-later options suggested by the Board’s pay-as you-go or 30-year bond proposals. None of which is any real solution to the out of control spending and outrageous cost of delivering water to your customers.”

The official vote on the new budget will be cast at the July 12 meeting.

On Friday, March 4, the CV Water District received approval from the California Department of Public Health to place Well 5 back into service. Due to high levels of MTBE, Well 5 had been out of service since September 2008. In mid-February 2011, a five-day pump test, which produced a total of 5.1 million gallons of water, showed only trace amounts of MTBE. The District will be monitoring MTBE levels at locations throughout its service areas to ensure MTBE levels remain well below state and federal regulations.

By Mike LAWLER

On Saturday, I organized a tour of the Crescenta Valley Water District’s facilities for members of the Historical Society. I’ve done the tour before, but it always amazes me how much work is done for the sake of clean water. Since much of our water comes from wells on the lower side of our valley along the Verdugos, a hell of a lot of energy and resources go into pumping it up the hill to all the homes up-valley. Powerful pumps and high-pressure pipes are a big part of the infrastructure locally that other water companies don’t have to deal with.

We’re lucky here in CV that we can still get about half of our water out of the ground. We haven’t polluted it to undrinkable levels, or drawn it down so far that we can’t get at it anymore. Our local water, although it comes with huge engineering nightmares of treatment, storage, and fighting gravity, costs a fraction of the price of imported water. The pipelines from the Colorado River, Owens Valley and the Sacramento Delta are quite literally drying up. The cost of that water is spiraling out of control as the sources we once deemed inexhaustible have finally been exhausted.

One of the most interesting things we saw on the tour was how much damage to CVWD facilities occurred from the Station Fire and the resulting floods. We got to see a lot of charred, twisted and sometimes broken water pipe running across gullies exposed by the floods, and a lot of CVWD access roads that were washed away. All these repairs will be borne by us ratepayers.

Our water rates will be going up soon and there will be a lot grumbling. I urge you to get involved if you’re upset with the system. The CVWD board meetings are open to the public, and tours like I arranged can be facilitated. Don’t just complain — educate yourself on where your money is going and how the system works.

That brings me to another subject I’m passionate about and that is local government. For those of us that live in the County portion of CV (basically east of Pennsylvania), the Crescenta Valley Town Council is our local government. Officially, it is a conduit, for community concerns, up to Supervisor Antonovich. Unofficially, though, it is much, much more. The Council’s got their fingers in everything from traffic, schools, crime, building codes, and parks — all are driven by the CVTC. Our new library, street lights, bike lanes on Foothill, better development standards, the upcoming dog park are all issues that were handled by them. Sadly, they work silently and without fanfare. Few of us know of their existence, and fewer bother to vote or attend meetings. That has been a huge mistake, as they are critical to our future!

The Town Council elections are coming up on Saturday, November 6th, and this promises to be one of the most dynamic races we’ve ever had. Some of the highlighted candidates on the ballot include a couple of lawyers. One of them, Odalis Suarez, was a critical player in fighting down the Oakmont V development a few years ago. Also running is a twenty-something college student, Charley Shelton, who has been involved in local youth issues. Perhaps most interesting of all is Dr. Suh, a dynamic ball of energy, who promises to awaken and energize the Korean-American community.

Coming up are two candidate forums where you can hear the candidate’s views. Thursday, Oct 21st, is the Town Council’s forum held at 7:00 p.m. at the La Crescenta Library. On Wednesday, Oct. 27th, there will be another forum hosted by the CV Community Association, and moderated by yours truly. This one will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Dunsmore Park community room and will focus on development issues, as I’m hoping this year will mark a re-commitment by the Town Council to keeping an eye on local building.

Once you pick your choices, choose to make a difference and head over to the polling place at La Crescenta Library on Nov. 6th. Mark it on your calendar!

By Brandon HENSLEY

As a decision looms near on whether the Crescenta Valley Water District will go ahead with its proposed rate increases, customers had their say Tuesday night, and the mood was visibly contentious.

About 20 residents attended the public hearing, which was located in the district’s boardroom, and most of them were there to oppose the rate increase.

The current situation stands as this: An average increase of 8.5% has been discussed for some time by the board, and earlier this year it sent out notices to customers of the possible change. A vote on the matter will likely take place on Nov. 17, a Wednesday, unlike the usual Tuesdays in which the board has its meetings. On that date the board may adopt, revise or modify the proposal.

General Manager Dennis Erdman spoke at the CV Town Council Meeting Sept. 30, presenting the board’s reasons for the increase. Tuesday he went over them again, stating the cost of importing water has risen. He also said because customer conservation has been good this year, revenue for the district has gone down. Erdman admitted how frustrating this must be to everyone.

“We’re not in a unique position here,” he told the customers. “Most water agencies in Southern California have the same message: please conserve water. Thank you for conserving. Because you conserved our revenues went down. Because our revenues went down, we don’t have sufficient revenues to do the job that we were previously doing, so we need to raise the rates. That’s a tough message.”

Another reason for the possible increase is the financial hit the CVWD took in labor and damage costs from last year’s Station Fire, totaling almost $300,000. Most recently, news of Foothill Municipal Water District’s increased plan to reduce water allocation will only hurt CVWD more. FMWD announced Wednesday that it is declaring stage 4 rationing.

The public then responded.

Some complained that the district has not been collecting enough runoff water, or that the tier system – CVWD uses a four-tier water rate system for its customers – should be simplified.

Greg Wilkinson read a letter he wrote in protest, and blamed the board members for not doing enough to cut costs elsewhere so customers wouldn’t take a hit. He also compared the district to the recent scandal with Bell officials.

“What parts of CVWD operation still look too much like the practices we’ve all seen recently in the city of Bell?” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson noted the “blighted yards” around town due to water rationing. “If you drive around this town now,” he said, “this is looking like Sunland-Tujunga now, instead of CV. We used to take pride in our front yards … this is directly related to water hikes.”

Director James Bodnar addressed the Bell comment by saying, “We don’t have that particular situation.” Bodnar also said board members are paid $100 per meeting, and that he is willing to potentially give up salary to reduce costs.

Gary Zuzow seemed to echo Wilkinson’s thoughts when he spoke. “You’re not in cahoots with the CV Water District. You represent us, and you’re supposed to guard us against this,” he said.

Zuzow continued, “I think there are a lot of people out there that would like to come in, and you’re not hearing from them.”

But that has been a point of emphasis from the district for some time.

“I encourage all of you to come to more meetings, because when you ask these questions, we discuss these at our meetings,” President Kathy Ross said.

It is not the first time Ross has said something similar at a board meeting this year, and she noted that when the district held its budget workshop this summer, public attendance was virtually nonexistent.

Last Saturday, district Engineer David Gould and president of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley Mike Lawler held a tour of CVWD’s facilities around town. Even there, according to Lawler, a growing disconnect could be seen.

Lawler noted the sparse crowd, which was given a tour of places impacted by the Station Fire and last winter’s floods, such as Pickens Tunnel, the Edmund 2 well, and Eagle Canyon.

“It was almost kind of depressing, because they’re really fighting an uphill battle,” Lawler said of the district’s costs. He also said he never realized how much it costs to pump water from the wells at the base of Verdugo all the way up the mountain well above Foothill Boulevard.

Lawler said he invited the nine candidates who are running in the upcoming Town Council elections, but none of them showed up.

“It’s one thing to complain about water, but we should all be educated about where it comes from,” he said.

Back at the public hearing, Mike Chonos complained about how conserving water can lead to rising rates, and summed up how both sides most likely feel.

“What kind of a Catch-22 is that for us? We can’t win.”

The next board meeting will be held on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at the district’s office, where the rate increase proposal will be an agenda item.

By Mary O’KEEFE

Customers of Crescenta Valley Water District will be receiving notices of a public meeting regarding a proposed increase in water rate and charges. The increase results from companies that supply water to CVWD and increased water rates the district is being charged. The public meeting will be held on Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the CVWD office, 2700 Foothill Blvd.
CVWD imports water from Foothill Municipal Water District who imports its water from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. In September 2009, Foothill increased its water rate charges to CVWD by 19.7%. This was in response to a Metropolitan increase. To counteract that almost 20% rate hike, CVWD increased rates to its customers by only 2%.
The district attempts to soften the increases by adjusting other areas in their budget, said Christy Scott, CVWD spokeswoman.
“We slashed our capital improvement project and used about $500,000 out of our reserve,” Scott said. “In January we expect a rate increase by Metropolitan of an estimated 7%.”
The new rate requested by CVWD will be an 8% increase for the average customer.
“That is a $9.50 increase for the average customer every two months,” Scott explained.
The exact amount of the increase will vary depending on the individual customer use.
For the complete public notice, visit the CVWD website at www.cvwd.com. Scroll down to Changing Events and click on Public Notice of Proposed Increase of Water Rates and Changes.

By Brandon HENSLEY
Richard Atwater, a former Crescenta Valley Water District board member, has been appointed as the new executive director of the Southern California Water Committee.
In its press release sent Monday, the committee said Atwater was chosen after an extensive search. He replaces interim director Ron Gastelum, who will still be active in the coming year for the committee.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to help out everybody in Southern California get a more reliable water supply from Northern California,” said Atwater on Tuesday.
Indeed, Atwater acknowledged the work that he and his collaborators have ahead of them, including expanding local area water resources and passing a statewide water bond in 2012.
Atwater has over 35 years of experience on the matter. He has been a member of the California Water Commission and has served on several task forces on water recycling and desalination. This past year, he stepped down as general manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. He is still a board member for the Foothill Municipal Water District. Atwater simply called his new job “a continuation of what I’ve been doing.”
In the release, SCWC Chariman Charles Wilson said, “Rich will provide a strategic vision and strong voice for Southern California and our members.”
Having a former board member for CVWD could prove to be beneficial for Foothill residents, Atwater said, a voice for a region with less population than that of other areas.
“I’ve talked to a couple [current CV board members] already and they’re thrilled that I got the appointment,” Atwater said. “It’s very prestigious. To have a local person here who has been working on something that affects 20 million people, but it’s just as important to people here in La Crescenta or La Cañada as it is in San Diego or Anaheim.”
The SCWC was founded in 1984, and is an organization dedicated to informing Southern California about water needs and resources.

By Brandon HENSLEY

The Crescenta Valley Water District approved its budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year during its board meeting Tuesday night, and signs may point to a rate increase for customers.
The district adopted a scenario in which revenues will be based on 5,000 acre-feet of water sold. Projections came out to total revenue at just over $8 million, while expenditures would total just over $8.2 million. Last year the district sold 4,400 acre-feet of water to its customers.
That puts monetary projections for this year in the red, which means a rate increase may be coming. The district said a 10% increase is likely, including a slight raise in the $12.40 per month fixed-charge.
The district held a workshop inside the La Crescenta Library Community Room on July 13 and made a PowerPoint presentation to its board of directors detailing revenue projections and other expense categories.
Budget concerns have been high for some time. CVWD absorbed a 20% rate increase last September, which was approved by Metropolitan Water District, a supplier of Foothill Municipal Water District, which imports to CV. That increase was not passed to CVWD’s customers.
Earlier this month, FMWD approved a budget where it will absorb 75% of Metropolitan’s rate increases.
Customers may still have a say in the potential increase from CVWD. In accordance with Prop. 218, district officials have to notify the public of these types of changes within 45 days, and a vote can be taken whereby if over half the vote is against it, it will not pass, which would then affect CVWD’s budget even further. More information is expected to come on this issue this fall.
On Wednesday, secretary-treasurer Ron Mitchell said keeping costs to a minimum is always on the district’s mind, and while it doesn’t have control over how much it spends on purchased water, it does its best on things it can control.
“The things we can control is how much we’re spending on labor, how much we’re spending on maintenance issues throughout the district,” he said. “I think it’s important to let customers know that we’ve done everything we can to keep expense levels at or below what they have been over the last year.”
The district is aware that customers may sometimes be caught off-guard at news such as rate increases, and on Tuesday the board members talked about reminding the public that all are invited to the board meetings, and specifically encouraged all to come to the budget workshop that was held. Public attendance last week was minimal.
“Historically they show up in the rate meetings, not the budget meetings, every year. The budget doesn’t mean much to them but when it comes to the rate hikes then they come out in force, ” said board president Kathy Ross.
The board also approved its wastewater budget. Projections for that budget are steady with minimal changes to come.
The next board meeting  is scheduled for Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. at the CVWD, 2700 Foothill Blvd.

By Geghard ARAKELIAN

A presentation during the Crescenta Valley Water District board meeting on Tuesday marked one of the many steps that have been taken by the power company to manage accounts online.
During the presentation, board members were given an in-depth overview of a web portal which will allow CVWD customers to pay their bills online.
Thus far, the criterion for setting up an account is minimal. The portal will ask customers for an email, a password and their utility account number.
Once the above information is submitted the user will be able to manage their accounts, pay bills and even add monetary credit, should a customer want to pay for several upcoming bills automatically.
One specific feature will allow users to view their water usage from up to 12 years ago using charts and graphs.
The CVWD speculates that with this technology staff should even be able to handle account payments over the phone.
In order to pay bills customers will only have the option to use electronic checks. The ability to pay by using credit cards may be added in the future.
Those who wish to create or manage an account can do so by clicking a link at the upper right portion of the CVWD’s main webpage, when the system launches in the weeks to come.
In other news the board addressed a complaint made by residents who reside by the water reservoir on Ocean View Boulevard.
The letter alleges that vegetation around the reservoir has not been maintained.
The board discussed in length its willingness to come to a common ground with residents while complying with budget issues.
Board members also noted that watering the vegetation in excess around the reservoir would pose a problem in light of the drought.
The issue was forwarded to the Community Relations Committee for further consideration.

By Robin GOLDSWORTHY and Mary O’KEEFE

Kenneth Putman has been appointed to the Crescenta Valley Water District board of directors it was announced today, Friday.  Putnam was one of six applications being considered by the board.
CVWD board president Kathy Ross said various backgrounds were found in the pool of candidates, but it was Putnam’s experience that ultimately made him the board’s choice.
Putman is a registered civil engineer, has many years of experience in water and wastewater industries and has served on the board of directors of the West Basin and the Central Basin Water Associations, according to a release by CVWD.
“He has a lot of work experience with various water districts and we’re hoping with that experience he can bring ideas to the district,” Ross said. She added that Putnam is familiar with the matter of water conservation since it’s a “whole California issue.”
“He has a good understanding of how to maintain a [water] system and the importance of a good staff to do that as we go into these tight fiscal times,” Ross said, “and yet he talked about budgets and that is another area that is crucial right now, with all the expenses that the (CVWD) is going through.”
Ross noted that Putnam seems ready to help the board undertake another of its biggest challenges: Glendale residents that CVWD services but who are unable to vote in water board decisions.
“From talking to him he seems to understand that situation and what it might entail to reach a solution,” she said.
Ross said that the board is confident in its decision. “I think we all feel very good about the knowledge that he brings.”
Putman will fill the seat that was recently vacated by Richard Atwater who resigned in January after a complaint by a community member to the Los Angeles County district attorney.  In his letter of resignation Atwater stated that, “in early December an anonymous person in La Crescenta complained to the L.A. County district attorney regarding my holding office on the board of directors of both the Crescenta Valley Water District and Foothill Municipal Water District as incompatibility of office.”
Incumbent Atwater had recently won re-election to the seat. From Jan. 29 to Feb. 26 residents of La Crescenta who were interested in filling the vacant board seat were asked to send in their letter of interest.  By Feb. 26, six candidates were vying for the position. On Thursday, the remaining members of the water board met in a public meeting to interview the applicants.