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Home My WebLink About12 Grant Water Meter Retrofit Project Agenda Item # TRUCKEE DONNER Memorandum To: Board of Directors From: Neil Kaufman Date: November 1, 2007 Subject: Sierra Nevada Conservancy Grant Application to fund the Residential Water Meter Retrofit Project 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD The Water Department is completing a grant application for submittal to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. One component of the application is "documentation authorizing applicant to submit application." 2. HISTORY In June 2007, 1 made a presentation to the Board regarding AB 2572 and its impact upon the District. Since 1992, the District has installed water meters on all new single- family houses. Those meters are not currently read and single-family residences are currently charged a flat rate for monthly service. AB 2572 requires that the District read these meters and bill customers on a volumetric basis beginning on January 1, 2010. AB 2572 also requires that the District install meters on all single-family houses constructed prior to 1992 and bill those customers on a volumetric basis beginning on January 1, 2025. The State of California did not allocate any funding to local agencies for compliance with AB 2572. The costs to the District for compliance with AB 2572 are significant. An upper end cost estimate of just under $20 million was given in July presentation. I have been working with Ian Fitzgerald to characterize the District's current housing stock in order to refine these costs. In addition, Mark Thomas and I have been reviewing current technologies regarding metering and meter reading equipment. These efforts have been aimed at refining the preliminary cost estimates. The Water Department has also allocated money in its 2008 budget to conduct a pilot study regarding metering of single-family residences. 3. NEW INFORMATION After the July presentation, I received a suggestion to apply for grant money from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC). The following text is from the SNC grant application; "The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) was established as a new State agency in 2004 to initiate, encourage, and support efforts that improve the Page 1 environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra Nevada Region, its communities, and the citizens of California (Public Resources Code Sections 33300 et. seq.). The SNC reflects a broad mission to be accomplished through a variety of activities in collaboration and cooperation with a wide array of partners. One of these activities is administering grant funds allocated to the SNC through successful bond acts and other sources. On November 7, 2006, California voters passed Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coast Protection Bond Act of 2006. Proposition 84 includes $54 million for the SNC to distribute to eligible organizations for the protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and streams, their watersheds and associated land, water, and other natural resources. This allocation from Proposition 84 comprises the first major source of project funding for distribution by the SNC. The allocation of these funds as proposed in the Governor's budget for Fiscal Year 2007-08 is $17.5 million, subject to legislative approval." In August, I had some discussions with SNC staff regarding whether the District's Residential Water Meter Retrofit project would qualify for funding under the SNC grant program. The result of these discussions was that the project would be eligible. I was then directed to submit a grant application. I have spent time during the past month working on this application. The submittal deadline is November 15, 2007. 1 plan to mail the final application of Friday, November 9. The attached document is the application in its current form as of Friday, November 2. 1 expect to spend additional time and effort on the application during the week of November 5-9. Also attached is a resolution for consideration by the Board. As noted above, SNC requires "documentation authorizing applicant to submit application." The attached resolution will function as that authorization. I am not aware of any other potential grant sources at this time. 4. SOURCE OF FUNDING No funding is necessary to submit the grant application. 5. RECOMMENDATION That the Board pass the attached resolution authorizing the submittal of a grant application to the Sierra ada Conservancy for money under the Proposition 84 Grants Pro m. Ed Taylor, Water Utility Manager X601- inter—im GM Attachments: Draft Grant Application Page 2 Truckee Donner Public Utility District Board of Directors Joseph R.Aguera J.Ronald Hemig Business Office (530) 587-3896 FAX (530) 587-5056 Patricia S.Sutton Tim Taylor William L.Thomason General Manager Peter L.Holzmeister November 7, 2007 Sierra Nevada Conservancy 11521 Blocker Drive, Suite 205 Auburn, California 95603 Dear Sirs: The Truckee Donner Public Utility District (District) is interested in applying for a funding grant under the Competitive Gants program administered by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The District is currently in the planning and design stages for a project entitled the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project. This program involves the installation of water meters and meter reading equipment on all residential customers served by the District's public water system. A number of studies have been conducted regarding the impact of water metering and tiered water rates upon water consumption at the residential level. Based upon these studies, a reduction in water consumption of between 10 and 20 percent can be expected. The District believes that the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project falls within the "Protect and Improve Water and Air Quality"program area of the grant program. There are four specific subareas within this general area. 1) Water Conservation Efforts and Programs 2) Integrated Projects to enhance natural water storage capacity 3) Projects to enhance resiliency of natural water storage resources 4) Infrastructure Needs for Wastewater Systems Neil Kaufman, the District's Water System Engineer is the project manager for this project. If you have any questions, or require further information, please contact him directly at 530-582- 3950. I thank you for consideration of this grant application and look forward to your response. Sincerely, Tim Taylor President, Truckee Donner Public Utility District Post Office Box 309 0 11570 Donner Pass Road IF Truckee, California 96160 I�`ONNER TRUCKE �� I III IIIIII Public Utility District Rksolu ion No. 2007 - XXX RESOLUTION APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY PROPOSITION 84 GRANTS PROGRAM WHEREAS, the Legislature and Governor of the State of California have provided funds for the Proposition 84 Grants Program; and WHEREAS, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy has been delegated the responsibility of the administration of a portion of these funds through a local assistance grants program, establishing necessary procedures; and WHEREAS, procedures established by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy require a resolution certifying the approval of application by the Applicant's governing board before submission of said application; and WHEREAS, the Applicant, if selected, will enter into an agreement with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to carry out the project; and WHEREAS, the Truckee Donner Public Utility District has identified the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project as valuable toward meeting its mission and goals. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District that this Board: 1. Approves the submittal of an application for the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project; and 2. Certifies that Applicant understands the assurances and certification requirements in the application; and 3. Certifies that Applicant or titleholder will have sufficient funds to operate and maintain the resource(s) consistent with the long-term benefits described in support of the application; or will secure the resources to do so; and 4. Certifies that Applicant will comply with all legal requirements as determined during the application process; and 1 Res. 2007-XX 5. Appoints the District's General Manager, or designee, as agent to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents, including but not limited to: applications, agreements, payment requests and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District in a meeting duly called and held within said District on the 7th day of November 2007. AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT Tim F. Taylor, President ATTEST: John L. Ulrich, District Clerk 2 Res. 2007-XX TRUCKEE DONNER GRANT APPLICATION PACKET FOR COMPETITIVE GRANTS UNDER THE SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY PROPOSITION 84 GRANTS PROGRAM NOVEMBER 2007 Truckee Donner Public Utility District 11570 Donner Pass Road Truckee, California 96160-0309 (530) 587-3896 TABLE OF CONTENTS ApplicationForm.........................................................................................................1 ProjectSummary........................................................................................................2 Board of Director's Resolution....................................................................................3 Project Proposal and Description ...............................................................................5 ProjectLocation Map................................................................................................10 SitePlan ...................................................................................................................12 TopographicMap......................................................................................................14 Photosof the Project Site.........................................................................................15 CostEstimate ...........................................................................................................18 RealEstate Appraisal ...............................................................................................19 Acquisition Schedule, Parcel Map and Willing Seller Letter......................................20 LandTenure .............................................................................................................21 CEQAand NEPA Compliance..................................................................................22 Leasesor Agreements..............................................................................................25 Regulatory Requirements.........................................................................................26 Page ii SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY PROPOSITION 84 GRANT APPLICATION FORM (Each site shall be considered a project;each project will have its own application.) 1. PROJECT NAME 2. PROJECT TYPE(Check 1 box only) Residential Water Meter Competitive Grant Retrofit Project ($100,000 to$1,000,000) Acquisition❑ Site Improvements Strategic Opportunity Grant Category 1 (less than$100,000) Acquisition ❑ Site Improvements ❑ 3.APPLICANT(Agency name,address,and zip code) Truckee Donner P.U. D. , 11570 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161 4.APPLICANT'S AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE Name and title-typed or printed Interim Email Address Phone John Ulrich , GM johnulrich@td ud - or (530) 582-3916 5. PERSON WITH DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE GRANT (If different from Authorized Representative) Name and title-typed or printed District Email Address Phone Neil Kaufman, Water neilkaufman@td ud.or (530 ) 582-3950 6. Grant Request AmountEng i n e e r $ 1 ,000 ,000 Other Sources of Funds Amount $ 19 ,000 ,000 TOTAL PROJECT COST $ 20 ,000,000 7. PROJECT ADDRESS(include zip code) Various location within TDPUD service area 8. COUNTY NEAREST INCORPORATED CITY Nevada & Placer (is project within city limits?) Truckee 9. Nearest Public Water Agency Truckee Donner Public Utility District 10. SUMMARY OF WORK TO BE COMPLETED(Items of work to be completed with SNC Proposition 84 Funds. Do not include Project merits.) Installation of water meters and meter reading equipment on all residential customers served by District ' s water system. 11.Total Project Acreage will be 0 Acres to be acquired in fee simple by Applicant Acres to be acquired in other than fee simple(explain) Site improvement/restoration acreage I certify at the info r a ' contained in the Application, including requi d aftachments, is accurate. Z C 7 Tame-and (Authorized ep esen Date n Ulrich , Interim General Manager Title(print or typed) 11 PROJECT SUMMARY The Truckee Donner Public Utility District (District) is currently in the planning and design stages for the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project. This project involves the installation of water meters and meter reading equipment on all residential customers served by the District's public water system. Currently, all of the District's commercial water customers are metered but the residential customers are not. A number of studies have been conducted regarding the impact of water metering and tiered water rates upon water consumption at the residential level. Based upon these studies, a reduction in water consumption of between 10 and 20 percent can be expected. The District believes that the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project falls within the "Protect and Improve Water and Air Quality" program area of the grant program. There are four specific subareas within this general area. 1) Water Conservation Efforts and Programs 2) Integrated projects to enhance natural water storage capacity 3) Projects to enhance resiliency of natural water storage resources 4) Infrastructure Needs for Wastewater Systems As noted above, a reduction in residential water consumption of between 10 and 20 percent is expected. The District currently utilizes groundwater to meet its customers' needs. A reduction in water consumption will correlate to reduced withdrawals of water from the groundwater basin, leaving more water available for natural uses. Additionally, with a reduction in water consumption, there will be an associated reduction in wastewater flows. This wastewater flow reduction will likely be less than the 10 and 20 percent noted above since a portion of residential water usage goes to outdoor irrigation and landscaping with no return flow to the wastewater collection system, Page 2 r + • r •i ai trict R solution No. 2007 - XXX RESOLUTION APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY PROPOSITION 84 GRANTS PROGRAM WHEREAS, the Legislature and Governor of the State of California have provided funds for the Proposition 84 Grants Program; and WHEREAS, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy has been delegated the responsibility of the administration of a portion of these funds through a local assistance grants program, establishing necessary procedures; and WHEREAS, procedures established by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy require a resolution certifying the approval of application by the Applicant's governing board before submission of said application; and WHEREAS, the Applicant, if selected, will enter into an agreement with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to carry out the project; and WHEREAS, the Truckee Donner Public Utility District has identified the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project as valuable toward meeting its mission and goals. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District, that this Board: 1. Approves the submittal of an application for the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project; and 2. Certifies that Applicant understands the assurances and certification requirements in the application; and 3. Certifies that Applicant or title holder will have sufficient funds to operate and maintain the resource(s) consistent with the long-term benefits described in support of the application; or will secure the resources to do so; and 4. Certifies that Applicant will comply with all legal requirements as determined during the application process; and 5. Appoints the District's General Manager, or designee, as agent to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents, including but not limited to: Res. 2007-XX applications, agreements, payment requests and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project(s) 1. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District in a meeting duly called and held within said District on the 7"'day of November,2007. AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT Tim F. Taylor, President ATTEST: John L. Ulrich, District Clerk 2 Res. 2007-XX PROJECT PROPOSAL AND DESCRIPTION The Truckee Donner Public Utility District (District) provides potable water service to portions of Truckee, California, along with adjacent unincorporated areas of Nevada and Placer Counties. The District is chartered under the Special District Act and is governed by an elected Board of Directors consisting of five members. The District's water service territory is shown in the next Section. The District is currently in the planning and design stages for a project entitled the Residential Water Meter Retrofit project. This program involves the installation of water meters and meter reading equipment on all single-family residential customers served by the District's public water system. Currently, all of the District's commercial water customers are metered and are charged a bill based upon meter readings, but the residential customers are not. Current California law requires that all new single-family residences constructed since January 1, 1992 be equipped with a meter. That law does not require that the meters be read and does not require that customers be charged based upon meter readings. The District has been installing these meters and is in compliance with the law. In 2004, Assembly Bill 2572 was signed by the Governor. This law requires that by January 2010, the meters installed since 1992 must be read that customers must be charged based upon meter readings. It further requires that by 2025, all single-family residences must be metered with the customers charged based upon meter readings Given the local climate and the preponderance of snow, it is considered infeasible to use dial equipped meters that must be visually inspected. This would require the use of backhoes and similar equipment to move snow during the Winter months so that meters can be read. Therefore, a method of remote communication via radio is preferred. Therefore, the District is planning to undertake a program to install new water meters and install radio transmitters on all existing water meters for its single-family residential customers. The overall cost of this project is estimated at between $15 million and $20 million. Land and Water Benefits The District utilizes groundwater to serve the needs of its customers. For calendar year 2006, the average day potable water demand was 6.5 million gallons (mgd). A total of 7,277 acre-feet was pumped from the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin. Currently, about 20 percent of the District's water is used by commercial and governmental customers. All of these customers are currently equipped with meters. These customers are charged a monthly bill that is based upon meter readings. The remaining 80 percent of the water is used by single-family residences that are charged a flat rate for service each month. The bills for these customers are not based upon meter readings. Page 5 Customer Ty e Total Usage Commercial & Governmental 1,455 acre-feet Single-family Residential 5,822 acre-feet Total 7,277 acre-feet Studies performed by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and others have shown that a 10 to 20 percent reduction in water usage can be expected once metering is implemented at the residential level. This would correspond to a reduction in water usage of between 582 and 1,164 acre-feet per year for the District's current customers. This volume of water not used by the District's water customers would remain within the natural environment. With a reduction in water usage, there should also be a corresponding reduction in wastewater generated by the Truckee community. This wastewater flow reduction will likely be less than the 10 and 20 percent noted above since a portion of residential water usage goes to outdoor irrigation and landscaping with no return flow to the wastewater collection system, SNC Program Goals The District believes that the Residential Meter Retrofit project falls within the "Protect and Improve Water and Air Quality" program area of the grant program. There are four specific subareas within this general area. 1) Water conservation efforts and programs 2) Integrated projects to enhance natural water storage capacity 3) Projects to enhance resiliency of natural water storage resources 4) Infrastructure needs for wastewater systems As noted above, a reduction in residential water consumption of between 10 and 20 percent is expected, reducing the amount of groundwater withdrawn to serve customers. This reduction in water consumption will correlate to reduced withdrawals of water from the groundwater basin, leaving more water available for natural uses. There is also the associated reduction in wastewater flows. This wastewater flow reduction should cushion some impacts of future growth upon the capacity of the local wastewater collection and treatment system potentially reducing the need for future system expansion. Implementability Planned implementation of the project is discussed in three areas — Work Plan, Budget and Technical Documents - below: Work Plan The retrofit project involves the installation of water meters on existing customer services. It is the District's goal to install the meters during the Summer of 2009. Page 6 During 2008, the District will conduct a pilot study regarding water metering of single- family residences. The District has included about $260,000 in its 2008 budget for this purpose. At a minimum, the pilot study will investigate the following: • Different radio technologies for communication with the water meters • Impact of severe winters, snowfall and snowbanks upon radio communications • Compatibility with the District's existing meter reading equipment • Compatibility with the District's existing billing software • Ability to retrofit radio hardware onto existing meters • Number of residences without meter boxes and the cost install meter boxes • District staffing required to maintain the additional meters • Define the exact number of houses currently equipped with meters • Define the exact number of houses that require meter box installation or upgrades • Anticipated costs • Water usage by different types of single family residences • Potential rate structures The details of this pilot study require further refinement. The final plan for the pilot study will be prepared during the Winter of 2007-2008. The District also hopes to install some test meters during the Winter of 2007-2008 to assess the impact of snowfall and snowbanks upon communications. Once the pilot study is complete, the District will prepare bidding documents during the Winter of 2008-2009. Two separate bid packages are currently expected. One package would involve purchase and delivery of the meters and radio communication equipment. The second package would cover field construction to install meter boxes and perform meter box upgrades where necessary. After the bids are opened, the District would take delivery of the meters and hardware throughout the Spring and Summer of 2009. Field construction would begin on May 1, 2009, in accordance with the requirements of the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. The meters would be installed by District field crews during the Summer and Fall of 2009. Reading of meters would begin with their installation. Customer billing based upon meter readings would begin on January 1, 2010. Budget As noted above the District has included about $260,000 in its 2008 budget for the pilot study. The overall cost for the initial purchase and installation of the meters has been estimated at about $20 million. Preliminary calculations have estimated annual cost of about $117 per customer, or about $9.72 per month. The District is currently planning to increase its water rates accordingly to recover these costs. Any grant monies received to offset the $20 million cost will be used to reduce the increase in customer rates. Page 7 Technical Documents The project involves the upgrade of existing District meter boxes and metering hardware. This project is considered Categorically Exempt under CEQA. The District's existing water system facilities are located within existing easements and public rights- of-way and the acquisition of additional easements is not necessary. The District will need to prepare Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan to cover locations where new meter boxes must be installed and other field construction must occur. Cooperation and Community Support As noted above, the District expects a reduction in the amount of wastewater flow generated in the Truckee area and a reduced load upon the wastewater collection and treatment systems. Thus the project is beneficial to the Truckee Sanitary District and Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency. In addition, charging customers bills related to meter readings leads to an increased awareness of the cost of water and will promote water conservation. It is expected that the community will support these two aspects. However, the District anticipates that customers will express displeasure at the cost impact upon monthly bills. Therefore, any monies available to reduce those costs would be greatly appreciated by the community. Project Management & Adequacy of Design The District's Water Department has been managing large construction projects for a number of years. The District's internal capital construction budget has exceeded $4 million for the past few years. The District has performed the design and inspection of these projects. In addition, the District has also inspected a number of large water system construction projects conducted by private developers. The District currently employs two licensed civil engineers along with a plan checker/inspector full time. During the Summer construction season, the District will temporarily assign other employees to function as construction inspectors. Therefore, the District has sufficient staffing to design and oversee the construction related aspects of the retrofit project. The District currently plans to use its water service field crews to install and configure the meters. As described in the Implementation section, the District will be conducting a pilot study to evaluate radio technologies and other key issues. Once the pilot study is complete, Bid Documents will be prepared by the District's in-house engineers. The bidding process will conform with all appropriate California regulations. Sustainability, Long-Term Management and Maintenance The District currently uses one Water Service Technician part-time to maintain its existing stock of 650 water meters. This technician has other duties to perform when he is not performing meter maintenance. With the installation of an additional 11,500 meters, it is expected that additional staffing will be necessary. The District currently anticipates that two technicians will be required Page 8 on a full-time basis to maintain the meters. It is likely that the District will need to hire at least one new staff member to fill this need. The costs associated with this additional staffing will be considered within the District's water rate structure. The District will also need to purchase some spare parts and spare meters to have available in the event that a meter fails. These items would be stored at the District's existing warehouse facility. Water meters typically consist of a bronze body with an internal gear mechanism that measures flow through the meter. There is also a register of some form for display, recording and/or transmitting the flow readings. These internal gear mechanisms normally have a service life of between 15 and 20 years. After that time, they become worn and do not measure flow accurately. The costs of this meter replacement must be considered and included with the District's normal maintenance program. After the initial purchase of the meters, it is expected that a reserve fund of some form will be created to set aside monies for meter replacement as it become necessary. Any construction performed as part of the meter retrofit program is a one-time expense that should not be needed when a meter wears out. Model Project Values The meter retrofit program under consideration is not very innovative and there are not many aspects of the project that could be considered leading edge. One area that could prove valuable to other water purveyors would be the evaluation of meter technologies performed as part of the pilot study. The climate in Truckee produces some very unusual conditions to test metering and communication technologies. Winter temperatures of -20' F can be experienced along with roadside snowbanks in excess of 20 feet. Summer temperatures at the same location can exceed 900 F. An evaluation of metering and communication technologies that can meet these conditions could prove useful to other cold weather communities. Page 9 PROJECT LOCATION MAP Truckee, California is located in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains at the east end of Donner Pass. Water system service elevations range of from 5800 to over 7300 feet. The area receives substantial amounts of precipitation during the winter as both rain and snow. Average high temperatures range from the low 80s in Summer to the low 40s in Winter. Average low temperatures range from the low 40s in Summer to the mid teens in Winter. The location of Truckee is shown on Figure 1. Page 10 SITE PLAN The planned project involves all of the District's residential water services encompassing about 8,000 separate locations. The District's water service area is about 44 square miles in area and ranges from the west end of Donner Lake to the Glenshire subdivision on the east. The District also serves adjoining areas of Placer County in the Martiswoods, Ponderosa Palisades and Ponderosa Ranchos areas. The location of the District's water service area is shown on Figure 2. Often, the work involved at one particular location is very minimal and in many cases does not involve any excavation or construction. Consequently, detailed site plans of each location will not be prepared and are not available. Page 12 State Route 89 to S"ierraviNe I-80 to Reno Y IA f , r a TOwlflOfTvjtdkee Town Limns15 - �_ �= I /l 5 I• I-- -_ /� � � / T_-_ +.'t_,..' 1. - .-.___-, Hirschdale Water Service Area SacraMento., - , , Truckee. ter Service I , Donner Lake �� ` A ��' NEVADA COUNTY --- � ;,,� ,. `- ?COUNTY 1 State Route 267 State Route 89 '' to Kings Beach to Tahoe City TRUCKEE DONNER Figure 2 Public Utility District Water Service Area TOPOGRAPHIC MAP The District's water service area encompasses about 44 square miles and the planned project involves work at about 8,000 separate locations. It is not possible to produce a single topographic map that is legible and covers all of these locations. The District has detailed topographic mapping of the entire area at 2-foot contour intervals. Detailed maps of particular locations can be provided upon request. Page 14 PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHS The planned project involves the installation of water meters and meter reading equipment on all residential customers served by the District's public water system. Photographs 1 and 2 show a double service located in the Tahoe Donner subdivision. This is typical water system construction from the late 1960s and early 1970s. As shown in the photographs, there is a rectangular concrete box that houses meter hardware to service two adjoining properties. The box is normally located at or near the common property corner. Inside the box are two meters, indicating that both houses were built in 1993 or more recently. The existing meters are not equipped with dial registers or radio transmitters and must be retrofitted. For houses built before 1993, there would normally be a straight piece of pipe instead of the meter. In those cases, a brand new meter with radio transmitter must be installed. Photographs 3 and 4 show a double service typical of a recently constructed subdivision. The meter is connected to underground piping with flexible hoses. There is sufficient slack in the hoses to allow the meter to be raised to ground level for maintenance and replacement. This picture was taken just before the gray piece of pipe (the meter idler) was removed for installation of a meter. Please note that the green pillow in the background is actually an insulated cover for an irrigation backflow device and is not part of the metering hardware. The meter box shown in Photographs 1 and 2 has inside dimensions of about 19 inches square with a depth of about 50 inches. This box is too small for a field worker to enter and too deep him to reach the meter and valving by hand. Often, construction equipment such as a backhoe must be to excavate down to a level where the can be reached from the ground surface. In most cases, it is more efficient for future maintenance to remove the existing concrete meter box and replace it with a new one similar to Photographs 3 and 4. In addition, meter boxes were not installed in some of the older subdivisions. In those cases, new meter boxes as shown in Photographs 3 and 4 must be installed. Page 15 ,"A%k Photograph 1. Typical Double Water Service (1970's Construction) 4 d r t } t i s �e , z kF Y fF 'a. Photograph 2. Typical Double Water Service (1970's Construction) Page 16 Photograph Typical DoubleWaterService (New • • r= Photograph 4. Typical Double Water Service (New Construction) Page 17 • - .`.'T.' � :�._ Via. _ F « COST ESTIMATE The overall cost for the initial purchase and installation of the meters has been estimated at about $20 million. The District had 11,506 single family residential water customers as of January 1, 2007. The cost to purchase a new residential water meter is $35. The additional cost for the register and radio transmitter is $190 for a total $225 per meter. The labor cost to install a meter, configure the radio transmitter and adjust the District's billing software is estimated at $50 per meter. It is estimated that there are 3,156 customers where these new meters can be installed with no construction required. Therefore: 3,156 x $275 = $867,900 It is estimated that the remaining 8,350 customers will require some construction effort. For these customers, either the meter box is inadequate or was never installed. The cost for this meter box upgrade is estimated at $2,000 per customer. Therefore: 8,350 x ($2,000 + $275) _ $18,996,250 Total = $867,900 + $18,996,250 = $19.9 million The District is currently reviewing its records and trying to refine the above estimates. The pilot study to be conducted during 2008 will also provide additional information to refine the cost estimates. This initial $19.9 million cost estimate does not include any costs for engineering or administration. There is also not a contingency included in these costs. However, it is expected that a portion of 8,350 customers noted above will not actually require the meter box upgrades. This reduces the cost per customer by $2,000 and should provide some monies to cover the costs of engineering, administration and contingencies. Preliminary calculations have estimated an annual cost of about $117 per customer, or about $9.72 per month. The District is currently planning to increase its water rates accordingly to recover these costs. Any grant monies received to offset the $20 million cost will be used to reduce the increase in customer rates. Page 18 REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL The project does not involve any property acquisition. Real estate appraisals are not applicable to this project. Page 19 ACQUISITION SCHEDULE PARCEL MAP & WILLING SELLER LETTER The project does not involve any property acquisition. Page 20 LAND TENURE The District's water system facilities are located within existing easements and public rights-of-way. The District has full rights for the maintenance, upgrade, repair and replacement of its existing facilities. Page 21 CEQA AND NEPA COMPLIANCE This project involves the replacement of existing water system facilities in-kind, with no increase in capacity. Therefore, the project is considered Categorically Exempt under CEQA. Similarly, a NEPA review is not required. The appropriate documentation has been filed and a copy is attached. Page 22 rTRUCKEE DONNER Preliminary Environmental Assessment Name of Project: Residential Water Meter Retrofit Location: Various locations is Truckee, California and adjoining areas Entity or Person Undertaking Project: Name: Truckee Donner Public Utility District Address: Post Office Box 309— 11570 Donner Pass Road Truckee, CA 96160 Phone: 530-587-3896 Staff Determination: District staff, having undertaken and completed an initial study of this project in accordance with Article V of the District's guidelines entitled "Local Guidelines Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act," for the purpose of ascertaining whether the proposed project might have a significant effect on the environment, has reached the following conclusion: The project will not have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, a negative declaration should be prepared. The project, if modified in accordance with certain mitigation measures set forth in the initial study and enumerated in Exhibit "E" attached hereto and by reference incorporated herein, will not have a significant effect on the environment. Upon completion of such procedures as may be necessary to assure such modification, a negative declaration should be prepared. The project may have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, an EIR will be required. The project is categorically exempt under Section 3.5. Applicable Exemption Class, Local Guidelines, Class 1, Existing Facilities. Applicable Exemption Class, State Guidelines, Class 1, Existing Facilities. Date: 0 1/ o :7 --/-,, Joh Ulrich, Interim General Manager Post Office Box 309— 11570 Donner Pass Road — Truckee, California 96160 TRUCKEE DONNER Public Notice of Exemption To: Office of Planning and Research From: Truckee Donner Public Utility District 1400 Tenth Street, Room 121 P. O. Box 309 Sacramento, CA 95814 Truckee, CA 96160 Nevada County Clerk P. O. Box 6100 Nevada City, CA 95959 Project Title: Residential Water Meter Retrofit Project Location -Specific: Various locations is Truckee, California and adjoining areas Project Location - City: Truckee Project Location -County: Nevada Description of Project: Installation of residential water meters and water meter boxes Name of Public Agency Approving Project: Truckee Donner Public Utility District Name of Person or Agency Carrying Out Project: Truckee Donner Public Utility District Exempt status (check one) ❑ Ministerial - See 21080(b)(1); 15268 ❑ Declared emergency- See 21080(b)(3); 15269(a) ❑ Emergency project- See 21080(b)(4); 15269(b)(c) Categorical exemption—See 15301, Class 1 Existing Facilities Reasons Why Project is Exempt: Replacement of existing facilities in-kind Lead Agency Contact Person: John Ulrich—530 582-3916 If filed by applicant: 1) Attach certified document of exemption finding. 2) Has a Notice of Exemption been filed by public agency approving the project? Yes No Date: n Ulrich, Interim General Manager Post Office Box 309 — 11570 Donner Pass Road — Truckee, California 96160 LEASES OR AGREEMENTS All of the facilities installed as part of this project will be owned, operated and maintained by the District using District personnel. As noted under LAND TENURE, the District's water system facilities are located within existing easements and public rights-of-way. The District has full rights for the maintenance, upgrade, repair and replacement of its existing facilities. Therefore, there are not any leases or outside agreements anticipated as part of this project. Page 25 REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS The District conducts its construction projects under the General Permit To Discharge Storm Water Associated With Construction Activity (WQ Order No. 99-08-DWQ) issued by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The District will need to file a Notice of Intent with the SWRCB for this project. The District also performs an annual update to its Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) to cover all construction projects anticipated during the upcoming calendar year. The update for 2009 will include the Residential Water Meter.Retrofit Project. The District will also coordinate with the Town of Truckee and Placer County regarding any traffic control required as part of the project. Page 26 FRNIA NEVADA i RENN TRUCKEE • OUTH LAKE TAHOE - SACRAMENT SAN FRANCISCO LAS VEGAN • BAKERSFIELD LOS SAN DIEGO TRUCKEE DONNER Figure 1 Public Utility District Location Map