RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Water tank capacity emerged as a significant development issue at the Rancho Murieta Community Services District Improvements Committee meeting on June 6 that included the district’s contract engineer, Joe Domenichelli.

Based on the preliminary discussion, the community’s two water tanks – Rio Oso and Van Vleck – and their respective distribution systems lack sufficient capacity to support future development.

The most immediate issue is the Rio Oso Tank, which has been draining quickly on hot days. It probably won’t have enough water to serve all 198 lots in the Residences East and West (Residences) subdivision near Stonehouse Park, where preliminary construction has already begun.

Although a second connection to the Van Vleck Tank is planned as a backup for the first phase of the subdivision with 68 lots, it wasn’t clear from the discussion if the 130 homes in the second phase can get water. However, Bob Keil, one of the developers, indicated he may provide land for a new water tank. The other Residences developer is the investment group headed by Carol Anderson Ward.

Keil said it would be “catastrophic” if the district couldn’t supply water to lots that have already been sold.

A less immediate problem, according to Domenichelli, is that the proposed Rancho North development with 697 lots will require construction of another water tank, as will the total buildout of the Residences and the Riverview developments in Rancho Murieta South. He didn’t mention the Retreats subdivision, which also is increasing water usage.

The district is required to supply potable water to the Residences, the Retreats and Riverview because Sacramento County approved all three subdivisions more than 20 years ago. However, the Rancho North subdivision is still in the process of winning county approval.

The Improvements Committee comprises two board directors: Martin Pohll and Randy Jenco, both engineers; Interim Operations Director Travis Bohannon, General Manager Mimi Morris and other district staff. The committee looks at infrastructure issues in depth and makes recommendations to the entire board.

Committee discussion

Domenichelli attended the committee meeting after district staff asked him a week earlier to formulate standards and specifics to size water storage tanks for future development. When Jenco asked him if he were starting from scratch, Domenichelli confirmed that he essentially was, as the last direction on designing and planning for storage came in the community’s master plan in the 1980s and included the Rio Oso and Van Vleck Tanks.

The pressurized Rio Oso Tank, which holds 1.2 million gallons, serves homes north of the second Guadalupe Drive. It also has been designated as the water tank for the Residences and for the 116-lot Village H in the proposed Rancho North subdivision. The 3-million-gallon Van Vleck Tank uses a gravity system to serve the remainder of the community.

Domenichelli said he raised concerns about Rio Oso Tank capacity when asked to comment as the Residences developers submitted their plans to the district. When Pohll asked if the developers had provided an analysis, the engineer said not in detail. “We understand that is going to be difficult for them to take on,” Domenichelli said.

Domenichelli also learned from Bohannon that the Rio Oso Tank’s water levels have dropped rapidly on hot days. The engineer said he hasn’t heard any concerns about the Van Vleck Tank emptying quickly.

Domenichelli had hoped that Adkins Engineering, which is currently developing the Integrated Water Master Plan along with Maddaus Engineering, would provide more specific information about storage in the water tanks.

“They’ve made it clear that it’s not their scope (of work), and the district should take care of that,” Domenichelli said. “That’s why we are here to try to do that as quickly as possible and to make it as accurate as possible.”

On the other hand, the Adkins hydraulic model of the entire water system has been very helpful in calculations so far, Domenichelli said.

According to the engineer, three factors are considered when sizing a water tank.  First is the amount of water needed to operate on average and hot days. Second is the fire flow requirement, which is specified by California fire codes. Third is emergency storage, which is less than definable and depends on the comfort level of the agency.

“Do we want three days of average flow because the water treatment plant goes down or do we want one day?” he said.

Pohll asked where a new tank would be built if additional storage were needed. Bohannon responded that the Rio Oso site isn’t big enough to upsize the tank. Domenichelli added that  location should be fairly high in elevation and mentioned some vacant areas north of Stonehouse Park.

The engineer said he could determine in a few weeks whether the 68 lots in Unit One would need a new tank. However, if one was needed, where it would go, how it would be funded and the actual design would take him much longer.

Jenco asked Domenichelli if he would be able to tell them “whether the existing system has enough capacity to support another X number of homes being built.”

The engineer said that is what he aims to do although “that’s something we can’t do today, so I would like it to be a priority for our company to jump on that.”

Because the $42,237 cost of Domenichelli’s proposal would require board approval, Jenco and Pohll asked Morris if she could schedule a special board meeting sooner than the next scheduled meeting on July 17 to avoid a six-week lag.

When the River Valley Times checked on June 17 to see whether that special board meeting had been scheduled, Morris said it had not because she “was trying to leverage other work to reduce the work effort required of Domenichelli. … My thought is some work on this has already occurred.”

Mike Robertson, with Baker and Williams Engineering, is the engineer for the Residences and the proposed Rancho North subdivision. Robertson told the committee that Residences Unit 1 was unique because it is located within the zones for both water tanks, although it was determined the project should get its water from the Rio Oso Tank.

Robertson also reminded Domenichelli that their plan adds valving in Unit 1 so it also can be connected to the Van Vleck Tank, saying, “We’ve always got to look for redundancy when designing systems.”

Domenichelli observed that the ability to switch to the Van Vleck tank should make Bohannon a lot happier on hot days. Bohannon agreed.

Keil came to the podium next and asked how much land would be needed for a new water tank. Bohannon and Domenichelli estimated at least half an acre. “It’s only $5 million an acre, but we’ll find some,” the developer responded.

He  also pointed out that homes in the Residences will use less water than existing homes because of the landscaping standards that prohibit grass.

Keil also said he wanted to go on record that dirt is already being moved in the subdivision. He said water services could be needed for already sold lots in Unit 1 as soon as November, and in Unit 2 a year later. Not having water would be catastrophic, given they would have to pay millions if they don’t provide water by a certain date. Keil emphasized the need for urgency.

Jenco responded that they understood. “You’ve heard the conversation, and we are trying to figure it out as quickly as we can,” he said.

In other business, the committee discussed a proposal for a drainage ditch from the Riverview subdivision to the Cosumnes River. Reynan & Bardis will pay the estimated cost of $80,000.