Issue | Background | Findings | Conclusions | Recommendations | Responses | Attachments Summary of Disaster

The Board of Directors of Midcoast Sewer Authority, West Bay Sanitary District, Coastside County Water District, and Skyline Water District should ensure that their districts become members of WARN or of another service association that can provide disaster response assistance. Response: Although we are in agreement with the Grand Jury’s emphasis on the need for emergency preparedness and inter-agency cooperation, the Coastside County Water District is proud of its emergency preparations. CCWD has a comprehensive “Emergency Communication and Contingency Operation Plan” that was last updated in April, 2006. Additionally, CCWD is indeed a member of “another service association”, the California Utilities Emergency Association (CUEA), which can provide assistance in the event of an emergency. We have determined that CUEA membership is preferable to membership in the WARN because of liability risks associated with the terms of WARN membership. Finding:

The Board of Directors of each Water, Fire Protection and Sanitary District should: Hon. Stephen M. Hall September 27, 2006 2.1 Ensure that the district coordinates closely with the municipalities it serves by: a) assigning an in-house emergency coordinator to work with the emergency coordinator of each city, town or county jurisdiction in its service area, and b) actively participating in the EOC activities of each city, town, or county jurisdiction in its service area. Response: CCWD agrees with this recommendation. We already have an in-house staff member who serves as the District’s emergency coordinator. Additionally, CCWD participates in EOC activities as part of the Coastside Emergency Services Committee, comprised of the Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District, Cabrillo Unified School District, City of Half Moon Bay Police Department, Montara Water and Sanitary District, Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside, California State Parks, California Department of Forestry and CCWD. 2.2 Ensure that their emergency communications systems are reviewed and that redundant radio links to the County are built. CCWD agrees with this recommendation, and is in the process of reviewing its communications links to the County OES and other agencies within our service area to ensure that reliable and redundant channels of communication are maintained. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments. Sincerely, Ed Schmidt General Manager COLMA FIRE DISTRICT November 7, 2006 Honorable Stephen M. Hall Judge of the Superior Court Hall of Justice 400 County Center, 2nd Floor Redwood City, Ca 94063 Re: Disaster Preparedness Training for the Residents of Cities in San Mateo County Dear Judge Hall As requested, the following is the Colma Fire Protection District’s response to the 2005-2006 Civil Grand Jury report dated July 19, 2006. The district agrees with the findings that Disaster Preparedness is a key issue which needs to be addressed to ensure the safety of our residents. We agree that the creation of an in-house emergency coordinator position is a valuable asset to coordinating efforts throughout our response area. We also agree that communications to county are a vital link in a disaster and they are currently under review.

The District should review its capacity to maintain Critical Communications Links during an emergency/disaster. Response: The District is in agreement with this recommendation and is currently working with the City of East Palo Alto and County of San Mateo to identify and ensure appropriate methods of communications during emergency/disaster situations are available. If you have questions and/or require additional information, please contact me. Sincerely, Lee Hawkins General Manager cc: Board of Directors L O S T R A N C O S C O U N T Y W A T E R D I S T R I C T September 20, 2006 Hon. Stephen M. Hall Judge of the Superior Court Hall of Justice 400 County Center; 2nd floor Redwood City, CA 94063-1655 Re: Disaster Preparedness Of Special Districts Grand Jury Report This letter is a reply to the San Mateo Grand Jury’s July 19, 2006 request concerning the status of Los Trancos County Water District emergency preparedness. Water District Service Area The Los Trancos Water District sold the water delivery operations of the District to the California Water Service Company (CalWater) effective April, 2005. The District operates no plant or equipment and, as such, has no need for a disaster preparedness plan. CalWater has assumed responsibility for this element of disaster preparedness planning. Prior to the sale the District upgraded various elements of the water distribution system to improve resilience to earthquake activity. Disaster Water Supply The District has established an Emergency Preparedness subcommittee that is working in conjunction with two local homeowners associations, (Vista Verde and Los Trancos Woods), the Woodside Fire Protection District and Community Emergency Response and Preparedness Planning (CERPP) to determine ways in which water from the District owned lake can be made available for fire fighting purposes, available for domestic water use and possibly as potable water in the event of major emergencies such as a wildland fire or catastrophic earthquake. As a partner in the on-going activities of these established groups, the District brings additional resources to bear on creating a resilient community within our jurisdiction. The activities of the subcommittee will be on-going with substantial progress in the current fiscal year. Please contact District Board member Perry Blackmon for additional information. Sincerely Perry Blackmon 25 Joaquin Portola Valley, CA 94028 CC: Clerk of the Court Grand Jury website Los Trancos County Water District ~ MID-PENINSULA WATER DISTRICT 3DAIRYLANE- POST OFFICEBOX 129 BELMONT,CALIFORNIA94002 PHONE (650)591-8941 FAX (650)591-4998 September26th, 2006 Honorable StephenM.Hall Judge ofthe SuperiorCourt Hall ofJustice 400 County Center,2ndFloor Redwood City,CA 94063-1655 Re: Mid-Peninsula Water District Response to Disaster Preparedness of Special Districts Report Dear JudgeHall: DIRECTORS Thisrespondsto the July 19,20061etterfromJohn C.Fitton, CourtExecutiveOfficer, requesting writtencommentsfromtheMid-PeninsulaWaterDistrict ("MPWD") respondingto the 2005-2006GrandJury's DisasterPreparednessof SpecialDistricts I Report ("Report"). TheReport includedthreerecommendations(onewith two LOUIS J.VELLA PRESIDENT subsections),andMPWD's responsesare setforthbelow.