Delayed PG&E repair work triggers PCWA conservation measures

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) emergency repair delays are causing Placer County Water Agency customers to cut back on water usage this week. PG&E is working on an emergency repair at its Spaulding Powerhouse #1, which was taken out of service in March due to a major leak that caused damage to the concrete backfill of discharge piping and the foundation and structural columns of the building. PG&E originally estimated its facilities would be repaired by early June but recently reported repairs won't be complete until July 30, even with welders and technicians working around the clock. As a result, Placer County Water Agency staff recommended to the board last week that the delay "is significant enough to trigger immediate conservation measures until PG&E can complete the repair," a PCWA release stated. According to PCWA, customers who receive 1 miner's inch (16,157 gallons a day) or more of untreated canal water will have their water delivery reduced by 20 percent. PCWA has 4,300 untreated water customers and about 61 percent (2,600) receive 1 miner's inch or more. PCWA Communications Manager Brie Anne Coleman said most of these customers are typically agricultural with land for livestock and landscaping. The customers whose water delivery will be reduced will be reflected on their water bills accordingly. Customers with untreated water service smaller than 1 miner's inch will not have their delivery reduced but are being asked to reduce water use by the same 20 percent. These restrictions include properties from Loomis to Alta in the PCWA service area. In addition, all other PCWA customers, including retail customers who receive treated water, are being asked to conserve. This includes reducing landscape watering (while prioritizing water for trees), avoiding sprinkler runoff, watering only early in the day and fixing leaks. PCWA will be communicating with customers about the ways they can help achieve these goals, as well as PCWA rebate programs that can help offset costs for making water-efficiency upgrades. PCWA Board Chairman Robert Dugan said this collective effort is necessary to help the region cope with an unexpected shortage caused by the PG&E infrastructure problems. He emphasized it would be temporary. "It is disappointing that PCWA must impose water conservation actions in a good water year," Dugan said. "The cause is directly related to a failure of a critical PG&E facility. Because PG&E's repairs have been repeatedly delayed, we are now forced to ask our customers to conserve so we have enough water to last through summer." Dugan said the issue is not related to water supply or drought. "In times like these, it's important that we all pitch in to help each other out until this issue is resolved," he said. PCWA delivers untreated water from Sierra Nevada streams via open canals originally constructed during the Gold Rush. This water also makes up a substantial share of the water PCWA treats and delivers to homes and businesses. The agency buys this water from PG&E, which operates Lake Spaulding and related hydroelectric facilities. Asked why the repairs are taking extra time, PG&E Marketing and Communications Principal Paul Moreno said the Spaulding Powerhouse #1 repairs were not expected so the planning and repair process has been sped up and are happening at the same time. "We've sped up this whole process," he said. "We have provided the best work based on the information we have had at the time." Moreno said as investigative work related to the original leak began, more layers of damage were discovered. "As we removed the damage we could see there was more damage to the concrete, which extended the time frame," he said. The repair includes replacing a liner which was replaced by PG&E in 2011 with a "more robust design." Moreno said the type of work is precise and the workspace is small, another reason for the length of the repair. "The work we are doing is very precise welding, but we are making the liner stronger than before using a thicker material and more modern grout to make it more robust as we rebuild," he said. Only two welders can fit into the confined space for the repair. As of mid-June, between PG&E and the construction contractor, more than 48,000 worker hours of onsite work was completed. Additionally, there has been more than 2,300 worker hours of offsite work between PG&E's Engineering, Project Management and Permitting departments. "We don't like delays either and we take very seriously the work to restore water flows. We remain in regular contact with water agency staff at least a couple of times a week," Moreno said. PCWA's neighboring water agency, Nevada Irrigation District (NID), has been similarly affected by the PG&E outage. PCWA and NID have been relying on water stored downstream in Rollins Reservoir to meet their customer needs in Placer County. NID owns and operates Rollins Reservoir, but PG&E stores and manages a portion of its water supply in that reservoir. According to PCWA, that PG&E supply available for delivery to PCWA could be depleted by mid-July without urgent conservation measures. "PCWA is committed to ensuring the reliable delivery of water to its customers and is taking all necessary actions to mitigate the impact of repair delays," a PCWA press release stated. This includes increased pumping from the American River and groundwater wells and purchasing water from neighboring water agencies. If conservation measures are not successful, or if completion of the repair work is further delayed, additional mandatory cutbacks may be required. Moreno said PG&E is "actively looking at ways to shorten the schedule if at all possible." PG&E will also test repairs by running as much as 400 cubic feet per second through the powerhouse to ensure the repair work's capabilities. July 30 is PG&E's return to service date for Spaulding Powerhouse #1.