In addition to the Board, eight more Newcomers and 4 husbands came to the Parks and Recreation Center after the Board Meeting to hear the program given by Ernie Solomon, who is a Director of the Purissima Hills Water District (PHWD) in Los Altos Hills.  He was introduced by Liz Wilson, co-chair of Programs. 
Liz said that Ernie has spent his career as an engineering geologist dealing with water projects in California. 

HIGHLIGHTS of ERNIE SOLOMON’S PRESENTATION
In California, conflicts often arise about water because “people live where water ain’t.”  Especially in the Los Angeles area, which has a semi-arid climate. LA has the same rainfall as San Jose, but a much higher population.  LA is running short of water, and long on legal issues.

The SF Bay area has issues with water too.  A brief history:
1890 – Crystal Springs dam was built
1915-1923 – Calaveras dam was built
1923 – O’Shaughnessy dam in Yosemite was finished, and a pipeline to SF was constructed
1920’s – other dams were built that brought water to the east bay from the Sierra Foothills
Starting in 1935, the Bureau of Reclamation began construction of dams to provide water for irrigation and to control floods in the Central Valley.
Despite the many conflicts and issues around water, and the difficulty of getting it, CA is a great agricultural state, in the top 4 of the US.  In fact, 40% of the water CA uses is for agriculture.

The Purissima Hills Water District, which serves the northern two-thirds of Los Altos, was created in 1955 when wells serving the small but growing population began to run dry. Purissima obtains all of its water from San Francisco’s Hetchy Hetchy pipeline. The water is piped from the Sierra foothills, across the San Joaquin Valley, around the end of the bay and on to Crystal Springs Reservoir. The water is treated (disinfected) at a plant in the Sunol Valley. The District takes the water from two “turnouts” -- one opposite the Veteran’s Hospital, and the second opposite Hillview Avenue. The water flows under pressure to the District’s one-million-gallon McCann tank and to the Dry Creek Pump station. The pump stations at the McCann tank and Dry Creek lift the water through a series of pipelines to other tanks and through other pump stations to serve the residents in the northern two-thirds of LAH. 

The distribution system consists of 4 pressure zones, 10 tanks, 5 pumping stations, 14 pumps and 107 miles of pipe. All services within the District are pressurized or gravity-fed from tanks in the respective pressure zones. The tanks have a total capacity of 10 million gallons, a 3-day supply, which is better than most districts. By contrast, Palo Alto has a 1-day supply.
Purissima is currently installing an additional large pump at the Dry Creek Pump Station at Arastradero and Purissima Roads to provide more pressure for fire suppression in the La Cresta Road area of the Hills.

The California Water Service Co. provides water to Los Altos and the southern one-third of LAH and parts of Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino. Cal Water obtains about 72% of its water from the Santa Clara Valley Water District via a pipeline from its Rinconada Treatment Plant; the remainder is obtained from wells. The company’s local system includes 294 miles of pipeline, 67 booster pumps and 47 storage tanks.

Some residents have their own wells, which are suitable for irrigation use.
The worry in this area is for a potential water shortage, especially as our population grows.
Recent tests showing pharmaceuticals in the water are not applicable to water from Hetch Hetchy, which is obtained from above any sources of pollutants. The pharmaceuticals were found in water supplies which receive waste water, which even when treated, may contain traces of pharmaceuticals. Water pumped out of the delta may have such wastes. However, water obtained by the SCVWD from the delta, treated, and provided to Cal Water, has been found to be free of pharmaceuticals, meets all standards and is safe to drink.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q: Is there sodium in our water?
A:  It depends on the source. Each water Dist. sends annual reports about what’s in its water. 
Q: Is there state legislation that mandates new houses to have a landscaping plan showing irrigation?
A:  This is proposed legislation. The town will need staff to monitor landscape plans and subsequent water use. Water usage is easily monitored. To promote conservation, PHWD uses a tiered system to charge for water use.
Q. Are there any good sources of information about cutting back on our personal water usage?
A. Ernie said that there are several ways the community can be educated about water usage:

• The District’s “Conservation Coordinator,” Alexis Shields, is available to suggest alternatives to lawns, and other high water use plantings, to reduce consumption. This would be good to do when designing a new landscape plan, or building a new house.
• Landscape architects can do plans to lower water usage and substitute drought-tolerant materials.
• An organization that has helpful information is the Native Plant Society.
• The Santa Clara Valley Water District has a woman who can tell you about drought-tolerant plants.
• There is a booth at the LAH annual town picnic every year that provides information about water.
• Hidden Villa has plant people who are amazing, and they offer free info. One is Jean Struthers.
• Jean Mordo said that water issues are on the agenda for a town meeting.  He thinks private property should be exempt from some state rules. Meanwhile, get help from the water company. They can check properties for places where drip could replace sprays, or where plant materials can replace lawns.

Q. Will the state be adding new dams or improving old ones?
A. The government needs to do this to control flooding and to capture more water to provide for increased demand.  It also wants to improve the delta, which supplies a lot of the state’s water.  Katrina was a wake-up call, especially for areas like the delta where there is low-lying land protected by a levee system. The levees are a hodgepodge of construction, and are vulnerable to earthquakes. There could be damage or catastrophic failure.
Q. What would the impact of a severe earthquake be?
A. The water district’s biggest concern is about breaks in the Hetch Hetchy pipeline. Both Purissima and Cal Water would be affected by movement on the Hayward fault which could damage pipelines bringing water into the south bay and Peninsula. 
Q. Are there special engineering techniques that can protect the pipeline?
A. The pipes are surrounded by a special material, especially where tunnels cross fault lines, which allows for pipe movement. But shaking could damage all systems, including transportation, power poles and electric wires.
Q. What about getting water during electrical outages?
A. There are back-up generators.
Q. Is there a risk of contamination to our water in an earthquake?
A. Yes, this could be a problem if pipelines are ruptured or treatment facilities are damaged.  If you feel a big quake, turn off your sprinkler system and use water sparingly until you hear that the supply is secure.
Q. What about desalinization?
A. This is too expensive. Water companies are looking for cheaper ways to do it. It takes a lot of energy.
Q. Do we have hard water?  Is there a difference between Cal Water (Los Altos) and PHWD (LAH)?
A. Cal Water supplies harder water than PHWD does.  Some people might want to use water softeners.
Los Altos Hills water is softer because Hetch Hetchy has very little soil so it doesn’t pick up minerals or dirt.  Santa Clara Water gets water from surface water and wells which has more minerals.
Q. What about water pipes in older homes?
A. If the pipes are the same age, they might have to be replaced.  Most pipes are of galvanized steel, but it depends on the quality. They could be okay, or they could be deteriorated. Talk to your water company.
Q. Are there chloramines in the water?
A. Levels of this are relatively low – just a few parts per billion. This is within standards.
Q. How do they test our drinking water?
A. Water companies check for lead and copper. They use a commercial company. All San Francisco water is tested once a year; we get the results with our bill.
Q. Who sets the rates we pay for water?
A. PHWD sets its own, and the board discusses rates in open meetings.  The public is given 45 days notice about the meetings. If more than half of the residents protest a rate increase, the District must reconsider and resubmit a new rate structure.
Rates have to cover improvements, costs, emergency services.  The cost of pipelines has gone up too.
Q. How do the water company’s costs break down?
A. Buying water from San Francisco is their highest expense. Then comes office costs, power, personnel.
Q. Are water filters needed, or recommended?
A. If you are concerned about chloramines in the water, Culligan has filter system which, it says, removes chloramine. 

Comments from the group: 
Chemicals (chloramines) in the water kill fish.
There are chemicals in the water at the pools at Stanford. 
You can put a system in your shower so skin doesn’t absorb chemicals.

Liz thanked Ernie for a very thorough and helpful presentation.  We all agreed!!
The meeting was adjourned at 11:25.

Respectfully re-submitted, Carol Kaganov, Recording Secretary