Calaveras County

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors has no authority over any utility agency or entity, yet CCWD and other water agencies receive property tax revenue regardless of services provided. There is no official mechanism for reporting information to the Board of Supervisors or anyone else in county government.

Some wells throughout the county are failing. Calaveras County Environmental Health Department (EHD) does not have statistics regarding failed wells. EHD does issue permits for new wells and for extending old wells. Testing of these wells is done primarily to determine the potability of the water. CCWD does not monitor the number or location of failing wells so the scope of the problem is not well known. CCWD is apprised of failed wells only when a resident contacts them in search of an alternate water source. EHD has conducted surveys and data collection studies as part of the 2004 Calaveras County Ground Water Management Program and this information is available on-line (see sources listed above). This data includes information on well depth, productivity, and water collected at the time of permitting as well as tertiary channels. (EHD) Drought conditions have an effect on well water, but the impact depends entirely on how the water is replenished. Wells on tertiary channels seem to be the most reliable. Wells on shattered rock are hit or miss. Wells on the San Joaquin County Ground Water Sub-basin (SJCGW Sub-basin) are dependent on depth and overdraft conditions. CCWD provided the following data regarding the number of households obtaining water from their water pickup locations (taps) due to failing wells (April, 2015): 38 - Jenny Lind System (Valley Springs/Rancho Calaveras, Burson, Campo Seco, Wallace, Paloma) 12 - Copper System (Angels Camp, Copperopolis, Diamond XX) 2 - West Point System (West Point/Wilseyville area) CCWD reported to the Grand Jury that there are five water pickup taps available to the public (2 in Jenny Lind, 1 in Arnold, 1 in Copperopolis, 1 in West Point). To gain access to these taps a form with a liability of release needs to be completed at which time CCWD will provide the location of the supply tap. All other public water companies reported they had o water tap locations.

Many wells in the western part of the county draw water from the San Joaquin County Ground Water Sub-basin and some have failed. The primary cause is serious overdraft of the sub-basin for many years. The reasons for this are well understood, but lay outside the scope of the Grand Jury. Monitoring of some wells in the Calaveras County portion of the sub-basin indicate that the ground water level is dropping approximately one foot per year and is not recovering (CCWD, EHD). Oakdale Irrigation District monitors 22 wells on the SJCGW Sub-basin and reports a 13 foot drop in the water table between 2005 and 2015. This is generally representative of the entire sub-basin as a whole. Primary responsibility for the management of the "Ground Water Sustainability Act(s)" falls to the individual water districts of the County. Regulations for wells have not yet been determined and, according to the time schedule proposed, may not be decided for a few years. These are long term plans and won't reach full implementation until 2040. EHD is also a stakeholder in the management of how these acts will affect wells using the San Joaquin County Ground Water Sub-basin within the county. EHD has previously conducted studies regarding groundwater and wells. There is presently no funding for further studies in this area.

Options become limited when wells fail, particularly for communities with multiple failing wells. Those options include: Drill a new well or extend an existing well (permits required by EHD). Obtain water from the local district provider at a provided pickup location. Partner with other local community households to have infrastructure installed for water hookups. Each of these options has its drawbacks. Drilling a new well or extending an old one is expensive with no guarantee of results. Water obtained from a provider at a pickup location requires the customer to obtain or provide his own conveyance, and water, once out of the "tap" is no longer considered potable unless the conveyance is a certified water carrier. Having infrastructure installed is expensive and is paid for by the community affected. Payment typically is in the form of an assessment applied to property taxes. The cost of infrastructure installation is sometimes so expensive as to be impractical. In the instance of a county resident getting water from a pickup location, CCWD reports that a fee of $10/month is charged for an "unlimited" amount of water (some restrictions apply). As mentioned, the responsibility for transport of the water lies with the customer. In the instance of infrastructure installation, a request must be made by the affected property owners and a vote for approval by the affected community must be taken after the costs have been determined. This entire process can be lengthy. The following chart represents the "hookup" fees. These fees are in addition to any infrastructure installation to bring the water lines into the community. CCWD Capacity Fees 2014: Copperopolis Water Only $10,977.00 Copperopolis Water & Wastewater $21,681.00 Ebbetts Pass Water $ 7,365.00 Ebbetts Pass Water and Wastewater $17,644.00 Forest Meadows Water & Wastewater $18,932.00 Jenny Lind Water Only $10,861.00 LaContenta Water & Wastewater $28,224.00 AD604 Water & Wastewater $21,075.00 current assessment AD604 Water & Wastewater $28,224.00 delinquent assessment West Point Water Only $11,198.00 West Point Water & Wastewater $16,768.00 Wallace Water Only $ 9,527.00 Wallace Water & Wastewater $18,597.00 UPUD Capacity Fees 2015 $14,000.00 Domestic VSPUD Capacity Fees 2015 $ 3,500.00 Single family CPUD Capacity Fees 2015 $ 3,245.00 But no hookups allowed at this time. The cost to install infrastructure to the community of Valley Springs (Rancho Calaveras - 2009 through 2010), excluding hookup costs ($10, 750), was quoted in the CCWD Final Assessment Engineer's Report totaling $835,248. This resulted in a 30 year $990,000 bond to be divided equally between 56 households. CCWD reported that some communities cannot afford the cost of infrastructure and have voted against it. A portion of all property taxes goes to the assorted public water companies in the County. These funds are spent at the discretion of each company.