As I looked through the board packet for the 12/15/14 Rio Linda / Elverta Community Water District board meeting, something caught my eye in the minutes from the November meeting.
Director Duane Anderson thanked the outgoing directors (Caron and Longo) and outlined what has been accomplished over the past two years. After so many years of trouble and bad publicity, I thought it would be a good idea to recognize where they’ve arrived with strong, competent leadership at the helm.
- Electrical panels were upgraded with SCADA at two well sites. (SCADA is Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition, which allows water systems to be monitored and controlled remotely by computers. It allows for early detection of trouble, and adjustments to be made to make the system more efficient.)
- Three hydropneumatic tanks were removed. (They hydro-pneumatic tanks were meant to maintain pressure coming out of the wells, and weren’t up to current standards.)
- The new 1.2 million gallon tank contract was approved and the project is 90% completed.
- Strategic planning meetings were held and the District’s Master Plan was completed.
- The 2010 water rate ordinance is fully implemented
- All previous lawsuits have been settled and the District is not engaged in any current litigation.
- All District insurance has been restored.
- Three pipeline projects have been approved (pending County documents before construction).
- Water usage by customers has been reduced by 19.6% in the last year.
- A new District Counsel (attorney) contract has been approved.
- The Board has worked to establish a strong financial picture of the District.
(I want to add that the district’s web site was completely rebuilt from the ground up and updated to current web and mobile standards.)
It’s time to recognize and congratulate the 2012-2014 board. Good work. After all the trouble of the previous years this community deserves a great water provider.
It’s been a long time coming.
