Water District 21 Report & low water event in January – Bill Johnson

Kit pointed out that water infrastructure was the issue that originated the formation of the KCCA, in order to improve our situation.  Mr. Johnson said that the low water incident on January 10, 2025 was a terrible shock and the Water District is very sorry. 

The explanation, simply put, is that the water source is pumped first to the east tank, then to the west tank, and then to the customers.  This lengthy flow is to keep the water fresh and drinkable.  Water testing is constantly done to guarantee freshness.

After the January 10th no pressure incident, a “boil water” order was issued because the west tank went dry, creating a potential bacteria infiltration. The County then worked with Barbara Hansen to distribute drinking water to the community until the testing confirmed that the water was safe to drink.

What happened was that a power serge created a loss of communication, and they were not alerted when the electric valve controls didn’t open, nor did the solar power backup kick on, which would have opened the electric valve.

The normal line of communication to the District is from Kagel Canyon to a station in the Santa Monica mountains, then to Malibu, but one of those stations was burned so there was a loss of communication with the District.  To avoid this in the future, the District would like to replace the electric valve with a hydraulic value (powered solely by the pressure in the system). 

Bill Johnson pointed out that one improvement that they are presently doing is Installing “hydric guards” (silver rings) on fire hydrants that prevent water geysers.  If a hydrant is damages,  only a small loss of water would happen.

Presently, when there is an electrical outage and the District is notified, they will deploy a generator, which is required because our water needs to be pumped uphill into the tank / reserve.

There are 34 hydrants in the canyon. Bill Johnson seems to think that they are all working, but will get back to us on that. Kit pointed out that the hydrant behind her house needed to be checked. 

Kelly & Michele DL pointed out that they have seen multiple water trucks using the hydrants to fill up.  Mr. Johnson explained that those trucks need “construction meters” to measure how much water they use and pay for.  It was pointed out that an Underwood Truck seems to be filling up every day at the hydrant on Shafer & Kagel Canyon Rd.  And a sewer pumping truck was there yesterday filling up.  Bill Johnson appreciated the heads up, and the District will check existing permits. 

Kelly asked how do they control the charges to the “construction meters” vs Canyon use.  Bill Johnson said that they measure usage through applications and metering for our location.  There is a meter installed on the hydrant that will be used, and an invoice generated for the revenue to the District.  Water delivery trucks are also eligible for “construction meters.”  The water trucks pay the same rates as we do, on a tiered system, same as residents. 

What is the normal trigger to Water Works to get a generator here when need be?  Edison gives them a two-day notice when there is going to be an energy shut off.  Since January 10th, the water district will now keep a generator at the Whiteman Airport for Kagel Canyon so crews can quickly bring it over.  Need will be determined based on the water levels in the tanks.

It was reiterated that water trucks need to apply for a “construction meter.”  When it is approved, the District goes to the hydrant, install a meter, then the water truck will be billed accordingly.  They only use hydrants with meters.    But, some trucks are issued a mobile construction meter, and they stick within the district that they are assigned to. A resident pointed out that some water trucks do not have signage, and Mr. Johnson will check the permits issued in our area.

Kit asked, when a meter is approval, who pays for the field staff to install the meter on a hydrant?  Mr. Johnson said that a fee is included for a meter install, and they are also billed if the meter needs to be moved.

Was the power serge a unique circumstance?  Mr. Johnson said that the equipment is good, and the outage was unusual.

Kit is asking for the locations for all the construction meters, and Bill Johnson said that a map will be provided to her. 

Kit pointed out that Kagel Canyon use to have frequent communication with water works about the upkeep and condition of our infrastructure, but not so much anymore.  She said that we have only had one water main replaced.  She wants to know what is left to improve?  What are the sizes of the existing pipes?  Mr. Johnson says that there is a large variety of pipe sizes and condition, and he will work on getting us this information.

Kit mentioned that the water district tells us that we are too wealthy to receive improvement grants, but when the west tank got disconnect, there was work needed, and FEMA gave us money.  She pointed out that District personnel has changed frequently, so Claudio and Bill being here tonight is much appreciated.  They said that the District is always looking out for grant programs – example, they got a 3rd party to fix leaks in the Canyon system.

Michele D L asked to make sure that the hydrants have larger hook-ups, and maybe we can get into a FEMA program that will check the hydrants’ main sizes that serve them, for maximum efficiency.  Claudio said that he will run numbers to give us the percentages of the sizes of the water mains leading to the hydrants.  He said that the Fire Department will be testing the hydrants in March.  He also said that most hydrants have the larger 4” not 2” hookups.

 Upper Canyon Water Situation

Bill Slocum said that the County has nothing to do with the water in the upper canyon.

Mr. Johnson said that in the event of a house fire, the Fire Department brings a large water tender.  In a larger fire, the next choice is to hook up to any available water tank belonging to a resident.  The Fire Department has the right to use them.  All water tanks are compatible with the Fire Department equipment.  Kelly pointed out that new construction must have 17,500 gallons of water accessible for fighting fire.  Bill Slocum said something about pulling the cap off the tank first to create a draft so it doesn’t break the tank – seems important and this should be clarified for the upper canyon neighbors. 

Thanks were given for the quick response that got us the generator on January 10, 2025.

Weed Abatement

Trever Zemp / Rob Horio Grounds Supervisors, County Parks,

Bill Slocum estimated that at lease 10 resident volunteers are willing to help with the park weed abatement.

 The Supervisor said that right now, the abatement is done twice a year, and the County does not presently have the resources to manually weed instead of spraying a pre-emergent (anti – germination chemical).  Rob said that without spraying, the weeding progressively gets more difficult with time.  He said that if you take it off its cycle, the park will get more “hairy” without the chemicals.  He is worried because there is a lot of area to cover.  He observed that Alta Loma Park was saved from fire because of these chemicals.  He feels that without the meticulous care, the buildings probably would have burned.  He stressed again that with time the weeding will get more strenuous because the chemical weed suppression will be gone, and a lot of weeds will come back later on this year, and become more difficult over time.  With a minimum of 15 people, it will eventually become a daily routine, having to constantly pull weeds when we walk around the park.  This is to including 80 ft. up the hill above the recreation center & the fire station. 

If we don’t stay on top of it, his best guess is that in 10-12 months it will begin to show itself as a problem.  In order to designate the exact area that needs to be abated, he will conduct a walk through and map an aerial view of the park to show us where the boundaries are exactly.  He emphasized that even if the weeds are gone, there will still be need for more weed suppression, because different weeds grow at different times of the year so it’s an all year commitment.  When you see weeds, you need to pull them. 

 After a bit more discussion, he said that hopefully this will become periodic, not daily matainence.  Trever and Ron promised to give us an opportunity to try to make this work.  If we can’t keep up the abatement, the County would have to resume seed germination suppression, or pesticides as needed in order to comply with the Fire Department. 

Kit asked about the extra leaves in the park this year because of the dryness.  Will the County address the stacks of leaves? Rob says that they don’t remove the oak leaves because they are weed suppressors.

 Travis said that he appreciates that we are willing to do this, and recognizes how much work it is going to be.  The County will not wait for it to get to be a bad situation, and will act if we are not able to keep up with the weeding.  He wants to meet with us regularly to evaluate the situation so it doesn’t become overwhelming.  They will act if we cannot keep up. 

And, if resources become available, the County will be able to take over manual weeding.  He was again clear that we have to be prepared that the work load will increase as the present abatement starts to subside. 

 Davy asked if the cost of spraying could be credited to us to help us pay for manually weed removal? Answer:  No, because chemical applications are not expensive.   Davy asked about planting better landscaping that lends itself to natural abatement?  Answer is that it takes a long time to establish new landscaping and the fire dept would have to then determine if the new landscaping is working to improve the abatement situation. Trever thought that this was a good suggestion, and he will look into types of landscaping that might help weed abatement. 

Sue asked if Round Up was ever used in the park because she was diagnosed 6 years ago with cancer and was worried that it might be related.   Ron says it was used only on the slopes, and it was a long time ago, he wasn’t sure when exactly. 

 Kit observed that pre-emergent spraying seems promising (seems that she was Googling it).  Rob said that he never knew it to have a negative effect on the wildlife.  He has had a lot of experience with it on golf courses, and said it never made the wildlife sick.

  Davy asked, since some people are against spraying, and it is a lot of work, what is the workload that we should plan for?  Trever said that he will estimate the workload and timeline, then meet with volunteers.  He will be in touch with Bill Slocum.  He said that the work doesn’t need to be done during “business hours”  but he will have to look at the liability requirements.  They might not need to supervise, as long as the work is safe and appropriately.  Trever will get us the answers asap.

 Pull Weeds Folks when you see them!!!!