RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Water dominated much of the discussion at the Rancho Murieta Community Services District board meeting on Feb. 18.

The first topic was non-agendized feedback from the Feb. 10 water shortage emergency hearing, including conflicting views on groundwater supply, a rancher’s offer of free water, and concerns about a resolution added to the agenda.

The second major focus was an update from the Water Vision working group on progress toward siting groundwater wells, evaluating the potential use of Lake Clementia and pursuing an Urban Water Management Plan.

In other business, the board considered major changes to the Security Department. See separate story.

Directors also discussed development issues, the effect of recent rains on local reservoirs, and a revised job description for a new general manager. See related story.

 

Jay Schneider explains how the district could get “free” water from his ranch.

Conflicting Well Information

Longtime community advocate Janis Eckard spoke during public comments to rebut claims from the Feb. 10 emergency water hearing that CSD “dropped the ball” on drilling a well and thereby lost Proposition 84 grant money, and that Rancho Murieta has “plenty of well water.”

Eckard said the grant could not legally be used to drill a well for a private beneficiary and that the well was never drilled because the district and landowner couldn’t reach a financial agreement, not due to neglect. Citing past well studies, she argued the “plenty of water” claim is also unsupported and submitted a Feb. 12 letter with her analysis. Her detailed letter is in the board packet.

Eckard charged that the district’s water planning has long omitted the key system‑capacity figure – how many connections the existing supply can safely support – and that a working group she served on found inaccuracies in the draft Integrated Water Master Plan that understate the true deficit. She urged the board to correct past errors by commissioning a genuinely fact‑based planning document or an Urban Water Management Plan so the community finally knows “once and for all” how many hookups the current supply can sustain.

Developer representative Jeff Pearson began by saying he “can sure appreciate and respect the amount of time that Ms. Eckert spent preparing that February 12 letter,” calling it “no small thing” and acknowledging her dedication, but said he wanted to offer “an alternative viewpoint.”

Pearson questioned Eckard’s assumption that the district has a 3,000 acre-feet shortfall and that wells would run continuously to meet that demand.

“There’s no reasonable scenario where this community needs that amount of water” pumped that way once drought-year conservation rules are in effect, he said.

Free Well Water

Rancher Jay Schneider surprised everyone at the Feb. 10 hearing by saying he would supply free water to the district from a well the district had drilled on his property in 2002. He provided more details at the board meeting.

Schneider told the directors that the district could use an existing high‑capacity well on his ranch and similar nearby wells (on the south side of the Cosumnes River upstream from the Dillard Bridge). Under his idea, those wells would pump groundwater into the river downstream, and the district would then divert an equivalent amount upstream at Rancho Murieta, using the river as the “pipeline” so long as no intervening landowners are harmed.

Schneider said he would not charge for use of his land, characterizing the water as essentially “free” to the district, with the only costs being the pumps, pipelines and operations needed to move it.

Water Plant Supervisor Travis Bohannon emphasized that while the water might be free, “free water costs a lot of money to move it from one place,” pointing to the substantial infrastructure and operating costs of pumps, power and conveyance that weren’t explained.

Water group member Tom Shewchuk added that, regardless of cost, using Schneider’s well to pump into the river and then divert upstream would not satisfy a state law requirement for a local backup water supply.

Water Shortage Resolution

Director Tim Maybee brought up another issue related to the Feb. 10 emergency water shortage hearing. He said his recollection from the closed session (at the Jan. 21 board meeting) was that there would be no resolution or action item placed on the Feb. 10 agenda, while President John Merchant said he understood the opposite: that “the discussion we had was putting the resolution on the agenda… so we had the option of taking action or not.”

When Maybee raised the same question at the end of the Feb. 10 hearing, Merchant said he had placed the resolution on the agenda.

District Counsel Patrick Enright told Maybee the Feb. 10 emergency‑declaration resolution was an older draft he had started months earlier and then forwarded on short notice the Friday before the hearing, saying he “didn’t have time” to prepare a new, fully developed resolution and findings for that meeting.

 

Director Randy Jenco updates the board about recent work by the Water Vision group.

Water Group Report

Director Randy Jenco reported that the Water Vision Working Group is focusing on three primary tasks: new wells, Clementia and the district’s Urban Water Management Plan.

On wells, the group is recommending test drilling at two locations – one on Murieta Equestrian Center property and another on Sacramento County parkland – and is also evaluating production well sites previously identified by Dunn Engineering as promising.

Jenco said Sacramento County has expressed interest in cooperating, but the district would need to negotiate easements and agreements with property owners. He added that the board may need to retain specialized water-law counsel as the effort moves forward.

Regarding Clementia, Jenco said the district has begun examining regulatory requirements if the lake is to serve as a potable water source. State regulators have provided examples from other agencies that operate lakes for both recreation and drinking water.

On the Urban Water Management Plan, Jenco said Water Systems Consultants declined to take on the assignment as an additional task due to workload constraints. Staff will instead prepare a request for qualifications to seek proposals from other firms.

Tom Shewchuk, a member of the water working group, suggested it take on a fourth task: auditing how all water is used in Rancho Murieta. Describing himself as a data guy, Shewchuk said he wants to “treat water like money,” working with staff to analyze meter and billing data so the district can see exactly where water goes, how much different users take and where conservation or efficiency improvements are possible.

During public comment, resident Carol Prinzo asked the board to appoint Jim Farrell to the working group as a second community representative. Farrell said he would be willing to serve if appointed.

Current members include Director Randy Jenco and Operations Director Travis Bohannon, representing the district; General Manager Rod Hart for the Rancho Murieta Association; Tom Shewchuk as the community representative; and Jeff Pearson representing the developers.