Bishop - Tempest brewing in Indy over water system changes

In the past year and a half, Independence has been besieged by a severe fire and a massive flood. Many residents there now feel they are in for additional hardship because of short notice given to homeowners that their home water systems will have to be modified to accommodate new water tanks replacing the ones destroyed in the Inyo Complex Fire.
Notices were given to some, but not all, residences the first week in November, with residents east of U.S. 395 receiving notices sooner than others. According to residents, this gave homeowners just six weeks to make the modifications necessary to accommodate increased water flows.
The town’s new water tanks are at an elevation above the town proper which will increase the pressure in the lines from 80 to 90 p.s.i. Although the town’s water pressure was once at 125 p.s.i. during an emergency use of back-up systems years ago with little to no damage, State Plumbing Code mandates that any increase in pressure requires reducers to be installed.
The pressure regulators are reported to cost between $500 and $700 per residence, for parts and installation.

A perceived lack of proper notice from the county alerting homeowners that they will be responsible for costly upgrades to accommodate increased water pressure from new town water tanks is one reason Independence residents are upset. Some of them voiced their grievances Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors. Photos by Mike Bodine

The plus side of the added pressure is an increased water flow for fire fighting. But this was of little consolation for homeowners who have a limited amount of time to modify their water systems; for many, this includes trying to find plumbers who will inevitably be in short supply soon as 360 services have to changed, 270 of those individual residences.
Some 60 Independence residents expressed their discontent with the county at a Nov. 12 town meeting and a dozen at the weekly Inyo County Board of Supervisors meeting this Tuesday. Residents said they were unhappy the way the county has handled the situation, and said they considered it the county’s responsibility to fix the problem.
Interim Public Works Director Doug Wilson told the board on Tuesday that residents developed three priorities at the Nov. 12 public meeting.
The first priority was a time extension to make the modifications. The rent on water tanks that the town is now using is being paid by insurance, but those payments will stop Dec. 31. The second priority was a request for the county to hire a specialist during this extra time to try and find a solution that would not require each homeowner to modify their properties. The final priority was for the county to find some way to bear the costs.
Wilson requested the supervisors approve contracting a specialist for $10,000 to analyze the system.
Supervisor Beverly Brown asked what information could be gained from a specialist that the county doesn’t already know.
“I certainly don’t want to suggest we would not learn something of value,” Wilson replied.
Supervisor Linda Arcularius said, jokingly, that these specialists charge $10,000 “for a blessing” and added that specialists always seem to find something else wrong.
The request to hire a specialist was ultimately rejected, but the board agreed on seeking the advice of a local, retired Los Angeles Department of Water and Power engineer that worked on the original installment of the wells in the Owens Valley.
The floor was then opened to public comment.
“It is cavalier to excuse the hiring of a water specialists,” said Art Lacues of Independence, “and why wasn’t this thought of by the engineers when the $2 million tanks were being built?”
Lacues added, “This is the county’s problem – whoever made the decision to put the tanks at that elevation should be held accountable and not put on the homeowners.”
Arcularius responded by saying that with the increase in fire protection because of the higher pressure, there didn’t seem to be an engineering flaw.
Cathy Barnes of Independence started by saying that not all property owners were notified of the meeting Nov. 12 or about the pressure change. Her husband, Mike Barnes, added that he was not happy that notices weren’t handed out until two weeks ago, and asked whose responsibility it was to clean up the flooding if his lines burst.
Cathy also described her philosophy that “government should be for the people” and that the county should handle this problem.
“First it was the fire, then the flood and now the county,” Barnes said. “People in this town feel like they’re being attacked by the county.”
Arcualrius said she disagreed with Barnes’ philosophy that it was a function of government to supply clean water, but government does have an obligation to regulate it. She then explained that she recently had to pay for a new well on her property, and that the county didn’t pay for that. “We all have a responsibility to get water to ourselves,” Arcularius said.
She added that the last time water rates were discussed with Independence residents, she said the residents decided on lower bills, sans money for deferred maintenance.
The board did agree that homeowners need more time, but the problem was then how to grant them more time with the least expense to the county.
The board finally decided to inform all homeowners as soon as possible that the new tanks will go on line Dec. 31 when the insurance payments run out on the rented tanks. The water in the new tanks will intentionally be reduced to keep pressures stable until March 2009, when the system will then go on line at full capacity.
The notice will include recommendations to homeowners that they modify their systems before March 2009.
County Counsel Paul Bruce took the opportunity to offer legal insight on the board’s decision. He said that the liability for the county greatly increases if the county “makes a conscious decision not to use the new system at full capacity when it goes on line.” The system not being at full capacity could, potentially, decrease firefighting capabilities.
Bruce said that there are legal exemptions to protect the county, but it would do nothing for the homeowner whose house had burnt down. Bruce added that it would be very costly for county taxpayers to go to court to receive these exemptions and would still do nothing for the homeowner.
Despite this, the supervisors proceeded with their decision.