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Rainbow MWD Approves Lift Station Replacement MND

The work which includes the replacement of the Rainbow Municipal Water District’s Lift Station No. 1 will have an environmental Mitigated Negative Declaration along with a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.

Rainbow Approves CFD with Pardee Homes for Meadowood

A community facilities district will cover initial Rainbow Municipal Water District expenses for Pardee Homes’ Meadowood development.

Rainbow Approves Contract to Install Morro Reservoir Tank Mixing System

The Rainbow Municipal Water District approved a contract to install a reservoir mixing system in the Morro Reservoir.

Helene Brazier did not participate in the Sept. 22 board meeting, when the other four board members gave support to the contract with CPC Systems Inc. The contract will be for $232,998 and CPC Systems, which is based in Irwindale, will install nine Kasco mixers with an option to install three more Kasco mixers.

November, March Shutdowns Set in CWA’s 2020-2021 Aqueduct Operating Plan

The San Diego County Water Authority has an annual Aqueduct Operating Plan, and the SDCWA’s 2020-2021 plan was presented at the Thursday, July 23, CWA board meeting as a non-voting item. The 2020-2021 plan includes shutdowns due to planned maintenance, and Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District turnouts will be impacted by a November shutdown to Pipelines 1 and 2 and a March 2021 shutdown to Pipeline 5.

Rainbow MWD Begins Process for Replacing Headquarters

The Rainbow Municipal Water District is hoping to fund the replacement of its current headquarters building through the sale of land, and a request for qualifications to provide development study services resulted in that study services contract was awarded to MasterCraft Homes Group, LLC.

Rainbow’s board voted 5-0 June 23 to award the contract and in the absence of board authorization for additional compensation, the contract will be for $122,324.

Rainbow MWD Adopts Resolution of Necessity for Moody Creek Farms Land

The Rainbow Municipal Water District needs a 15,000-square-foot area which is part of Moody Creek Farms, so the Rainbow board approved a resolution of necessity for the property May 26.

The 4-0 board vote, with Helene Brazier unable to participate in the meeting, does not approve eminent domain but allows for that possibility if the district and Ernest Moody are unable to come to terms on a sale agreement.

“This is just the resolution of necessity. We’re not agreeing to the price of the land,” district engineer Steve Strapac said.

San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors Chair Jim Madaffer-primary-View from the Chair

Jim Madaffer: Supporting Protections for Ratepayers and Property Owners

I hope this finds you safe and healthy despite the challenging circumstances that we face as a region, state and nation.

While our hearts are heavy, we continue working on several critical issues at the Water Authority this month, and I would like to share three of them with you briefly.

  1. The Water Authority’s Board of Directors on May 28 voted to support a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of detachment proposals by the Rainbow and Fallbrook water districts to ensure that ratepayers and property owners in those districts and the rest of the county are protected from potential impacts and given a meaningful opportunity to engage in the process. That evaluation – under development by the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO – should cover financial, water supply reliability, governmental, and environmental impacts, and it should ensure that the public and all affected agencies across the region can weigh in, according to the Water Authority Board resolution. I encourage you to read the entire resolution at www.sdcwa.org/lafco-detachment.
  2. Our Board has set a public hearing on 2021 rates and charges on June 25. As you know, this has been a very rough stretch financially for almost every business and agency – and water utilities are no exception. Staff has proposed a strategy that would raise the rates we charge our member agencies by about 6 percent next year. That recommendation is the result of cost-cutting, using our Rate Stabilization Fund and other measures. It’s a thoughtful and careful proposal, and I’m expecting our Board will have robust discussion before voting on this issue that affects us all.
  3. On the financial front, we are also doing our part to attract more state and federal economic stimulus funds for a long list of shovel-ready water projects. The Water Authority has coordinated a letter from several water agencies asking Congress for COVID-19 financial relief for public water utilities and ratepayers. At the same time, I am pleased to announce that several regional water supply projects in San Diego County are on track to receive a total of more than $15 million in state grant funds, pending a final decision this summer. The money would help local agencies advance conservation, environmental enhancements, water purification and other initiatives.

As always, I will continue to update you on these critical issues and others in the weeks ahead.

View From The Chair represents the viewpoints of Jim Madaffer, Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors.

It’s Official: Two North County Districts Want Out of County Water Authority

The water agencies that serve the Fallbrook and Rainbow areas of North County have officially filed applications to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority, an unprecedented move with potential financial implications for almost all water customers in the county.

The Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District filed “reorganization” applications with the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) on Wednesday. The filing has been expected for months and will likely trigger a lengthy process that could culminate, should the Water Authority have its way, with a vote of all customers served by any of the 24 water districts that belong to the umbrella water agency.

Opinion: Let’s Understand the Case for Detachment From the San Diego County Water Authority

As a new Fallbrook resident, I attended the recent Fallbrook Community Forum. I was impressed with the openness, friendliness, dedication and commitment of the participants. The experience led me to join the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce.

I wish my enthusiasm extended to the proposal for our community to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority. The report involved whining about “process issues” that commonly consume public agencies. Observing the crowd, the presumption is that the affirmative case for the proposal has been made. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Water Authority Wants Voters To Weigh In On Agencies’ Divorce Request

Two small water agencies are trying to divorce themselves from the San Diego County Water Authority and join a Riverside County water agency instead.

The San Diego County Water Authority isn’t willing to let them go so easily. Its board of directors last week approved a resolution to ask the obscure San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission “to require approval by voters across the Water Authority’s service area of any proposed ‘detachment’ by the Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utility District from the Water Authority,” the Water Authority wrote in a press release.