MERCED RIVER WATER ENTITLED CUSTOMER
Per State Water License 11395
held by the
MERCED IRRIGATION DISTRICT (MID)
Water license restrictions establish a PLACE OF USE for MERCED RIVER WATER which for Lake Don Pedro is essentially the residential subdivision and golf course with a few exceptions such as MID recreational areas around Lake McClure.
GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTION FOR SURFACE WATER TRANSFER
MERCED RIVER WATER that leaves this permitted POU (subdivision and golf course) must be replaced with an equal or greater amount of “ALTERNATE SOURCE WATER” which for the Lake Don Pedro CSD means production of groundwater with extremely expensive groundwater wells. [These new groundwater wells were planned, constructed and developed with GRANT FUNDS leveraged with the $1 MILLION DOLLARS saved by the LDPCSD after near bankruptcy with a subsequent PROPOSITION 218 to increase district income and remain solvent.]
Groundwater in the area also contains arsenic and other contaminants which must be removed to assure State Health requirements which obviously increases the cost of providing water to customers with the added monitoring, treatment, and state reporting process. The LDPCSD water license was recently changed to accommodate these groundwater wells and treatment costs at the plant have risen at least 25% in addition to the SUBSTANTIAL WATER LOSS THE LDPCSD HAS EXPERIENCED FOR DECADES. Two months ago a 45% loss of treated water leaving the plant to customers was revealed.
!!!!!!!!! UPDATE !!!!!!!!
UPDATE: During the Wednesday, January 17th, 2018 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE LDPCSD BOARD OF DIRECTORS. PETE KAMPA once again, in another surprise GM report “dump of important DISTRICT INFORMATION*”, revealed to the packed audience of three customers, two disturbing facts.
(*”Handouts” at meetings which are unattached to the PROPERLY NOTICED AGENDA PACKET. These unattached handouts will likely later disappear like so many other important missing documents in LDPCSD record history due to their uncomplimentary information. PETE KAMPA intentionally “holds back” such critical information for his “surprise GM REPORTS” so as to deny PUBLIC COMMENT & LEGITIMATE QUESTIONING claiming they are not ON THE AGENDA and therefore can not be discussed. This “NO DISCUSSION POLICY” is usually followed with the suggestion of submitting an AGENDA REQUEST for discussion at a later meeting which is, not surprisingly, often completely ignored.)
#1: GM/TREASURER PETE KAMPA has unilaterally declared a POU CHANGE for WL11395 for the LDPCSD by removing the traditionally highest OUTSIDE POU GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTED CONSUMER (the elementary school), along with six other previously identified outside POU properties, from the MANDATORY COMPLIANCE REPORT for all GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTED properties (due to the MERCED RIVER WATER that leaves the authorized POU of the Lake Don Pedro residential subdivision and golf course).
What is particularly curious about KAMPA’s 11395 POU CHANGE, is that it was announced during a granted 90 day extension by the STATE WATER BOARD (180 days total) in answering their September 28th, 2017 NOTICE OF VIOLATION issued to the LDPCSD for — are you ready? Water License 11395 Place of Use violations!
The NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NOV) also pointed out that various LDPCSD maps are nonconforming with the PLACE OF USE (POU) of the water license, yet PETE KAMPA is intentionally VIOLATING POU RESTRICTIONS while supposedly preparing to answer for the initial POU VIOLATIONS giving rise to the NOV!
THE OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT WAS “KAMPA DUMPED” (and encouraged this UPDATE)
THE LDPCSD HAD ANOTHER
43% TREATED WATER LOSS!
!!!!!!!!! UPDATE !!!!!!!!
The significant MERCED RIVER raw water loss (between the lake and treatment plant) has been basically ignored by Board and Management and a traditional water report previously documenting this loss (and other relevant information) was discontinued upon KAMPA becoming GM/Board Treasurer.
Example: If 2 acre feet of water is diverted to ANNEXED PROPERTIES OUTSIDE THE MIDPOU, 2 acre feet of groundwater must be produced in replacement and “blended” into the MERCED RIVER WATER, which itself, does not contain the arsenic and other contaminants associated with groundwater.
Three of the primary characteristics of a special district are: providing a limited service; to a particular group of customers in a DEFINED AREA, for only the cost necessary to provide that service.
Increased costs in providing a GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTION PROGRAM for third party land developers and speculative real estate interests OUTSIDE THE LEGAL PLACE OF USE for MERCED RIVER WATER, have obviously been increasing the cost necessary to provide service to the MERCED RIVER WATER ENTITLED CUSTOMERS of the Lake Don Pedro subdivision for almost four decades.
WHY WAS WATER PLANT THERE?
Stranger still is the fact that the FORMER SURFACE WATER TREATMENT PLANT (converted into a groundwater substitution facility by KAMPA to circumvent MERCED RIVER WATER RESTRICTIONS IN THE WATER LICENSE) was specifically designed, constructed and intended to serve the Lake Don Pedro residential subdivision and golf course as documented in the California Public Utilities Commission January 1981 approval for the transfer of facilities and assets. (From the former private Sierra Highlands Water Company to the newly formed Lake Don Pedro CSD).
That surface water treatment plant has been quietly reconfigured into a hidden water subsidy program for land developers outside the legal place of use. Almost forty years now legal property owners in the subdivision entitled to MERCED RIVER WATER have unwittingly been funding a process to divert the subdivision’s most valuable natural resource. A resource which should be a major selling point for the many unimproved lots in the subdivision also entitled to MERCED RIVER WATER. (This is also a designated disadvantaged community.) Historically, this is highly sustainable quality MERCED RIVER WATER straight from Yosemite National Park!
“Anything valuable requires protection” and MERCED RIVER WATER is extremely valuable.
BELOW
Here is some very interesting information regarding WL11395 and the SOUTH SHORE CLUB ANNEXATION APPROVAL TO THE LAKE DON PEDRO COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT for 2,010 acres and 772 acre feet of MERCED RIVER WATER a year, THAT NEVER DEVELOPED YET IS STILL CONSIDERED IN THE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA (Despite PETE KAMPA’s confusing “map game” postings on the LDPCSD website.) Here’s 2,010 acres approved for development by the STATE WATER BOARD, however, the development conditions were not met and the project was dropped.
Yet all the while, other developers not going before the STATE WATER BOARD FOR APPROVAL OF MERCED RIVER WATER DIVERSIONS AND USE UNDER THE LICENSE, expanded LDPCSD water service boundaries in the opposite direction (east) AND ON THE FINANCIAL BACKS OF MERCED RIVER WATER ENTITLED CUSTOMERS of the subdivision. This was accomplished through a number of property annexations INTO THE DISTRICT by county LAFCos (Local Agency Formation Commissions) and based on the legally necessary future development of a massive ALTERNATE SOURCE GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTION PROGRAM compliments of the former returning employee who set up many of these outside POU annexations” 20 years ago.
The CSDA’s Sierra Network multi-term Board Director Pete Kampa.
ANYWAY…interesting reading about South Shore Club below.
Options for moving through this PDF are located at the bottom of the document. Just installed today – let’s hope there are not any negative consequences! later Lew 7/6/2017
