After a special meeting last week to discuss water issues in Sierra Madre, the city council agreed it needs to act urgently to begin repairing some of the city’s worst water mains after an increasing amount of reported leaks in recent years.
The council didn’t vote or enact any measures during the meeting but directed staff with recommendations on projects, code amendments and resolutions to change policy to address the issues affecting the city’s water resources.
A staff report from September showed that water system leaks in the city have increased 633% over the same period two years ago. The total leak count from June 1 to Oct. 14 this year was 135, compared to 12 in 2013.
“We’ve done up to five repairs a day,” said public works director Bruce Inman.
The aging infrastructure plays a role in the leaks as several water mains are from the 1930s. But water chemistry is an added factor since the city began importing their water from the Metropolitan Water District in 2013 when its own wells were running dry.
Staff identified the 20 worst water mains in the city’s system in need of repairs and replacement. After some discussion, the council agreed to staff’s proposed emergency water main replacement program which includes two phases.
The first phase will include repair of three water mains and is estimated to cost $637,700 and phase two includes five mains at an estimated cost of $786, 450 – totaling $1.4 million.
Some mains were chosen because construction plans from 2001 already exist and will speed up the process of repairing or replacing those. Others were identified because of a potential of using alternatives to replacement such as water pipe linings.
The fairly new but promising technology is a process that is less disruptive to the surrounding neighborhood, less construction and can cost about 30 percent less than replacement, staff reports note.
Inman said repairing the city’s water infrastructure has been known for years but the funds were not always available.
“We’ve never wanted to waste water; its been a matter of money,” he said. “We set rates towards beginning a replacement program. The revenue just never came through.”
Now the council will have to decide whether to use water fund reserves which had about $2.3 million as of June 30, or draft a loan from general funds. Council will have to check if that is even legally allowed.
The city’s water issues don’t end there — the city has not met its water conservation target and may face a fine from the state.
Though the city is unable to currently determine how much water is wasted because of the leaks, Inman said that is certainly a factor towards the city meeting its conservation goals.
Staff will bring back the proposed replacement program for the council to officially vote on in future meetings.
The full report and summary of the meeting is on the city’s website at www.cityofsierramadre.com.
