MOUNT HANNAH — The county Board of Supervisors approved a $122,200 grant Tuesday to replace a dilapidated water tank in Mount Hannah, serving approximately 88 ratepayers with 36 connections.
County Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger made a case Tuesday for the county supervisors to use emergency funds to replace the redwood water tank whose woes were made worse when a 4.5 magnitude earthquake that struck the area Oct. 20 last year.
Photos of the tank in Dellinger”s PowerPoint presentation showed it has started to lean downhill where it is situated and is tethered to a tree by a strap.
Dellinger stated in a memo to the board that the 40- to 50-year-old tank “has the potential to fail completely before State Revolving Fund funding is obtained.” Special Disticts staff has been in pursuit of that funding over the past year.
Dellinger reported that the tank sits on pier blocks and a partial slab, which he said is cracked causing the tank to shift and twist after the quake hit. As a result, the water level in the tank was lowered to less than 50 percent to avoid structure failure, leaving minimal storage, said Dellinger.
He said an engineer estimated a $222,200 cost to install a 100,000 gallon bolted steel tank to replace the current 50,000 gallon redwood tank.
The California Department of Health Services (DHS) approved $120,000 in emergency funding for the tank”s replacement. Dellinger said the project would cost substantially more than DHS funding could provide, however, and recommended the project be considered an emergency.
The BOS” commitment was needed to secure the DHS funding as soon as possible. Dellinger said expedited construction would take “a few months” to allow for necessary geotechnical exploration and design work.
The BOS approved the funding with the provision that the needed $122,200 would come from monies the county set aside for infrastructure improvements.
The larger infrastructure improvement project funded by DHS, said Dellinger, would eventually translate to a substantial rate hike. CSA 22”s current $30 monthly rate might go up to between $50 and $80, although those figures are still under evaluation.
“There”s more to it than a rate increase,” said Dellinger. He explained that a combination of a significant rate increase for Mount Hannah”s 36 customers and and a parcel tax to be applied to each of its 70 parcels would be needed to support other necessary system improvements. A short list included a work on the water distribution system and well controls, along with other projects.
Part of the problem, said Dellinger, is that the community is considered to be economically disadvantaged. Special Districts Utility Systems Compliance Coordinator Peggie King said based on a recent survey of Mount Hannah, the community”s median income was found to be around $20,000, well below the state average of $54,000.
Another problem is simple math. Its small rate base means weighty improvement costs are broken down into bigger chunks than they might be in districts with more ratepayers.
King explained that to be eligible for grant funding, a community”s median income must be below 80 percent of the state median income. Based on that, noted Dist. 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, 73 percent of Lake County is economically disadvantaged.
King added that Lake County is considered a disadvantaged county.
Supervisor Rushing asked Dellinger to compile a list of 50 top priority projects for all of the water systems he manages in the county so the board would be prepared to consider them.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
