09/30/2021
An Elegant Solution - Here’s the way we solve lots of problems and maintain local control of our most precious asset:
The Future of Paradise Irrigation District
9/22/2021
As our town of Paradise recovers from the devastating fire of November 8, 2018, it becomes increasingly important for a unified body to oversee all the critical services that are necessary to sustain it. One very important component of this recovery is our water. Water is a vital commodity and as a community we must protect our system as well as defend it against attack from outside sources that see our current water district as a struggling entity that is ripe for takeover. The loss of most of Paradise Irrigation District customers has put the district in a position where they had to reach out to state government for funding to prevent bankruptcy and eventual takeover. Assemblyman James Gallagher petitioned the state to provide Funding for PID to mitigate the loss of revenue. It was provided by the California Water Board for two years, but it was tied to conditions that will ultimately result in the district having to enter in possible negotiations for combining with another nearby water district. Quoted from the letter sent to PID from the State of California Department of Finance on August 14th. 2019.
“The disbursement of funds to the district is contingent upon certain metrics. The first year’s funds disbursement is contingent on the district agreeing to participate in a feasibility study, to be arranged by the State Water Resources Control Board and funded by the state, that will examine the possibility of consolidating the districts operations with one or more neighboring water districts. The second years disbursement is contingent upon the districts continued participation in the feasibility study.
If this is satisfactory to the district, please send a letter on official letterhead (an emailed .PDF is sufficient) agreeing to participate in the feasibility study and requesting disbursement of the funds”
A letter responding to this requirement for funding was sent to the California Department of Finance and signed by Kevin Phillips PID General Manager. Quoted from the letter sent to the State of California Department of Finance from PID on August 29th. 2019.
“The district agrees to participate in the feasibility study”
Based on that response letter PID received funding from the state.
Shortly after this agreement was consummated the State Water Board began the process of selecting individuals in the California University water department who were charged with the responsibility of creating the guidelines for the study and an RFQ for a consulting firm to perform the study.
The state authorized California University system to accept the bid from GEI Consulting to research options for PID’s survival.
Almost three years later, Paradise Irrigation District is still in a very vulnerable position as it awaits funding from FEMA, lawsuit proceeds from the PG&E Victims Trust Fund, and increased revenue from adding new customers.
The agreed upon contract with the State of California to enter in a study with another nearby water district for possible consolidation, has somehow morphed into a full “Options Study” that includes far more than just the study of consolidation that the State had mandated. It is not clear what transpired to create this new requirement of an “Options Study”, which includes a litany of items as possible ways for Paradise Irrigation District to recover. If there are documents or agreements that have transpired after this one agreement letter from the State of California, they have not been discovered yet. Regardless, one thing is sure. If Paradise Irrigation District does not find a means to fully sustain itself, it will likely be mandated to combine with another water district.
There actually is a solution to this that will not require Paradise Irrigation District to come up with any funding. One that will allow the Town of Paradise and its residents to maintain local control of their water district.
The Challenge:
1. Paradise Irrigation District has lost most of its customers and currently cannot sustain itself without additional sources of verified revenue.
A. Review of the 2021-2022 PID Budget shows a large loss for the next two years.
2. Paradise Irrigation District has committed to studying possible consolidation with another water district in exchange for funding it received from the State of California.
A. Excerpt from Review of letter from the State of California Finance Department dated August
14th. 2019
“The disbursement of funds to the district is contingent upon certain metrics. The first year’s funds disbursement is contingent on the district agreeing to participate in a feasibility study, to be arranged by the State Water Resources Control Board and funded by the state, that will examine the possibility of consolidating the districts operations with one or more neighboring water districts. The second years disbursement is contingent upon the districts continued participation in the feasibility study.
If this is satisfactory to the district, please send a letter on official letterhead (an emailed .PDF is sufficient) agreeing to participate in the feasibility study and requesting disbursement of the funds”
3. Butte County and the State of California need to find surface water sources to supplement the ground water in their sub basins to comply with SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act)
A. Reference Butte County Board of Supervisors Agenda item 4.07 dated August 13th. 2019
B. Interesting side note: Paul Gosselin chaired the Water & Resource Conservation which submitted this document to the Butte County Supervisors with a requested meeting date one day before the State of California’s letter to Paradise Irrigation District offering the “Backfill Funding” in exchange for entering in a consolidation study with another water district. This document spells out the Intertie and resulting water from Paradise Irrigation District to California Water Service in Chico.
The Solution
1. The Town of Paradise Creates a Special Subsidiary District and folds Paradise Irrigation District into the town. (It is quite normal for a town to have both water and power departments).
A. Satisfies the State’s desire for consolidation.
B. Provides immediate financial assistance for PID. (Town of Paradise has sufficient funding
to support Paradise Irrigation District).
C. No need to wait for the PG&E settlement, or revenue generation from the Intertie.
D. Helps ensure that costs to rebuild PID infrastructure and maintain service does not fall
on ratepayers.
E. With a population significantly less than the 27,500 pre fire, having one entity makes
more sense. (Population currently around 7,500 post fire)
F. Less government = stronger local control.
G. Nothing will change, other than the Board of Directors.
H. Streamlines government.
I. Our current Town Manager Kevin Phillips is extremely knowledgeable about PID
because he was the past PID Manager prior to accepting the position as Town of Paradise manager.
2. The Town of Paradise and the Intertie that has been discussed since the Camp Fire.
The “intertie” has been discussed by individuals from the state, the county, and local officials as a way to supplement Paradise Irrigation District revenue and provide needed water to replenish the ground water in the valley, to comply with SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act). Butte County’s “Table A Water” allotment is currently being sold to water districts outside of the county but could be used to recharge the valley floor aquafer indirectly by processing it through the Paradise Irrigation Districts water treatment plant and transferring it to California Water Service in Chico via the “Intertie”. This is a laudable goal which would help both Paradise and water districts in the butte county valley below Paradise. Developing this infrastructure should not be attempted while Paradise Irrigation District is reliant on funding from the state to sustain itself because the State can easily control the outcome of how much water is transferred and set the compensation rate for those transfers. As we all know, the waters of the state do not belong to any one entity. We only retain the right to reasonable use of this resource. What we do currently have control of, is our water treatment plant and distribution system. As long as Paradise Irrigation District is a part of the Town of Paradise, we maintain local control of our system and as a result, maintain control of what goes through our system. This will greatly lessen the chance that the State would see our non-Table A water (our Paradise Lake and Magalia Reservoir water) as available to send down the hill.
A. Provides a way to get Table A water to end users.
B. PID maintains control and generates revenue by treating the water before it goes down
the hill.
C. Encourages Magalia Dam project to move forward to address seismic issues and raise
water level. (because of the current drought conditions, there is both state and federal legislation that is providing funds for development and improvement of water storage).
D. The Intertie and Magalia Dam projects are timely as Federal infrastructure grants become available. (Our state and federal representatives, James Gallagher and Doug LaMalfa should see this as an opportunity to engage and help develop this intertie to provide the surface water that SGMA in Butte County is relying on.
Let’s move forward with solutions to address the needs of Paradise and our neighbors, while maintaining local control.
Talk to your neighbors and friends.
Show up at Town Council meetings and PID board meetings and express your support for this solution that is a win for all.
There’s no better time to make this happen! Hold Our Water
9/29/2021
