RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - An unexpected apology emerged as a surprising topic when the Rancho Murieta Community Services District (CSD) improvements committee met on March 11.

During public comments, community activist Janis Eckard publicly apologized to the consultants who prepared the draft Integrated Water Master Plan. One of them was Lisa Maddaus, who briefly attended the meeting. Maddaus defended her work on the plan and offered to attend the next improvements committee meeting to answer questions.

In other business, two engineers from Water System Consulting outlined preliminary proposals to prepare an Urban Water Supply Plan, and a Water Vision Plan intended to supplement the Integrated Water Master Plan. The district’s contract engineer, Joe Domenichelli, also outlined his recommendations for constructing a new water tank and optimizing the use of existing tanks. (See the two separate stories on these topics in this issue.)

The improvements committee comprises two board members—Directors Randy Jenco and John Merchant, Operations Manager Eric Houston, General Manager Mimi Morris, who was on leave and other staff. The committee thoroughly examines infrastructure issues and makes recommendations to the entire board.

Maddaus, who co-produced the draft Integrated Water Master Plan with Oregon engineer Dan Adkins, introduced herself during public comments. Expressing her desire to connect with the district, Maddaus acknowledged that many questions had arisen about their work and stated they were prepared to answer them publicly. 

“Dan and I both feel we did valuable work,” she said. “Some of the dialogue we’ve heard isn’t in line with how we did our work, why we did our work, and what we did with the information and data provided.”

Jenco expressed satisfaction when Maddaus said she could attend the committee’s April meeting. 

“I’ve been asking that for months now,” he said. “Let’s get Lisa here to answer questions face to face.”

Maddaus suggested that receiving a list of technical questions about the draft Integrated Water Master Plan in advance would help her prepare more thoroughly. She also noted that she and Adkins had already addressed 130 questions. District Secretary Amelia Wilder informed Maddaus that she would be first on the agenda at the April 8 Improvements Committee meeting.

Janis Eckard, who has harshly criticized past and current water studies, followed Maddaus to the podium. 

“I would like to issue a public apology to Lisa Maddaus,” Eckard said. “I’ve been really hard on her through all the times she’s been involved in our water studies.”

“The reason was that there were data inaccuracies and assumptions that were not achievable. But unfortunately, it wasn’t Lisa who generated the data.”  

Eckard added that she conveyed that in a letter to Maddaus. 

“I told her I would publicly apologize to her for holding her feet to the fire the way I did,” she said. 

“I don’t feel her model is bad. It’s the accuracy of her model I challenge, but that’s because of the data CSD gave her.”

Maddaus responded that she and Adkins were very appreciative of the letter.

Following the meeting, The River Valley Times contacted Eckard to ask who from the district supplied the inaccurate data to the consultants. Eckard confirmed that it was prior Operations Director Michael Fritschi, who resigned in May.

When asked for examples of inaccurate data that ended up in the Integrated Water Master Plan, Eckard cited four issues. First, the projected recycled water supply at full development build-out was overestimated. Second, the existing demand for the water supply was understated. Third, the evaporation and seepage rate was calculated too low due to reliance on a less accurate measuring method. Fourth, the amount of water lost to breaks and leaks was also understated.

Asked how she knew the inaccurate data came from the Rancho Murieta Community Services District, Eckhard said that Adkins made it clear at a town hall meeting that he and Maddaus hadn’t produced the data used in their study.

“When I sent the apology letter to Dan and Lisa, I told them the reason I ‘held their feet to the fire’ was because they knew the numbers were wrong,” Eckard said in an email. “In my opinion, they had a moral obligation to protect the community, particularly since Rancho Murieta does not have a backup water source and had most likely exceeded the capacity of the system.

“However, Lisa and Dan were paid to follow orders, so the blame belongs with CSD.”

The River Valley Times contacted Fritschi for a response. He said it was unfortunate that some people were challenging the work of good engineers and scientists and their technical study.

“I tried my best to provide the best data I could and to be as transparent and honest with the community,” he said. “If some of the community doesn’t want to hear the truth, I can’t make them.” 

Fritschi said the elephant in the room is growth. 

“The issue appears to be that some people do not want to have growth in their community and are using perceived water scarcity as a tool to prevent development.”

Fritschi fears trouble is looming for the district. 

“Until the community gets together and honors its covenants with the developers, there could potentially be issues in the future,” he said. “They should be working together to find and secure water supplies and storage solutions.”

Fritschi concluded by saying he wished the Rancho Murieta community the best.