Council weighs solutions to Knolls water shortage
Property owners tired of waiting to build
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

In response to a recently discovered water shortage that is preventing property owners from building new homes in the service area south of the railroad tracks, officials from Ventura County Waterworks District No. 8 are tentatively planning to build two new water tanks in the Santa Susana Knolls.

The Simi Valley City Council, in its capacity as board of directors for the waterworks district, discussed options for both longterm and interim solutions to the shortage during a meeting Monday.

On the condition that the department of public works continues to meet with Knolls residents, the board approved- as a longterm solution- the planning and design phase of a new 1milliongallon water tank at an elevation of 1,466 feet.

In February, the public works department issued a city memorandum stating that the 126,000gallon Alta Vista water tank currently serving the area is approximately 4,000 gallons below Ventura County's updated requirement for domestic, emergency and fire shortage demands.

"We're authorizing staff to move forward with the project, but this is not a done deal," said Mayor Paul Miller. "What we're expecting is that staff meets with all the Knolls people who are affected and works out the issue with them before they come back to us with any kind of final decision."

Ron Fuchiwaki, director of public works, said that about six property owners who are trying to build new homes in the area are unable to proceed because the district cannot issue willserve letters for water service.

In the interim, public works staff has recommended the construction of an additional 126,000-gallon tank adjacent to the Alta Vista facility, which would serve residents until the larger tank is complete.

Fuchiwaki said that construction of the second Alta Vista tank could allow the district to issue a limited number of conditional will-serve letters based on the agreement that a water meter will not be installed until the tank is operational.

"We believe that if conditional will-serve letters are allowed to be issued, (property owners) can get their building permits at the same time we're building our new tanks," Fuchiwaki said. "Theoretically, they would come online both at the same time and save some of those property owners some time on their own."

The additional 126,000-gallon tank is estimated to cost the city $153,000- plus the cost of land- and take 12 to 18 months to build. The 1-million-gallon tank will cost an estimated $1.82 million and take two to three years to finish.

The land for both tanks has not yet been acquired, but money for the project has been set aside in the waterworks budget.

Todd Sealey, one of the six property owners trying to build, said he thinks none of the city's options will provide an immediate solution.

"I want to build in my neighborhood and I've spent in excess of $70,000 to be able to do that," Sealey said. "I'm stuck in the water and I can't do anything, so I am affected monetarily."

In addition to addressing the halt in development, the mayor expressed concern about fire protection in the area due to the water shortage.

But City Manager Mike Sedell said the district has been in contact with the Ventura County Fire Department, and that the current capacity does meet firefighting standards.

"They feel they have a minimally sufficient amount of water," Sedell said. "But we want to bring it up ultimately to (waterworks) district standards.

"The concern we have is to get something in there as quick as we can for the short term, and even more sufficiently for the long term."

Councilmember Steve Sojka said he didn't like the idea of spending an excess amount of money on an interim solution and asked staff if it was possible to skip straight to the construction of the 1-million-gallon tank.

"I have a hard time talking about $150,000 plus land . . . just to serve six, when we're being told by our fire department that it's adequate," Sojka said. "Though it's minimal, it's adequate. Why wouldn't we be able to move those six forward and skip the interim option, and save $200,000?"

Arnaut Vandenberg, a property owner trying to build two homes on Crown Hill Drive, said the inability to get will-serve letters is causing him financial hardship.

His properties are at a higher elevation than the Alta Vista site, and will be ineligible for the conditional will-serve letters that the public works department is recommending.

Vandenberg requested that the board issue him a willserve notice and then allow him to build a private, temporary water system for fire-flow and domestic needs while the district builds the larger tank.

"We'd have our own storage, and it can be a temporary facility that can be taken off line later," Vandenberg said. "And we're willing to pay for everything on this."

District officials said they are planning to meet with affected Knolls residents and property owners later this month, before coming back to the City Council with a final decision.

The first meeting is tentatively set for 6 p.m. Monday, June 30 in the community room at City Hall.