RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Failing storm-drain culverts beneath Pera Drive will be plated through the coming rainy season while the Rancho Murieta Community Services District completes engineering and permitting for a permanent repair that is expected to begin next spring.

The CSD Board on Aug. 26 approved $96,791 for the first three phases of engineering work by Domenichelli & Associates on the sinkholes and deteriorating culverts. A fourth phase of about $40,000 would bring the engineering and project-management cost to approximately $137,000.

Utility Supervisor Corey Carskaddon, filling in for Chief Plant Operator and Interim Operations Manager Travis Bohannon, said some of the work is being delayed because of the approaching rainy season. Staff did not want a contractor excavating Pera Drive and then leaving the roadway open during the rains.

Carskaddon said the district will move ahead with design and permitting in preparation for construction.

“Hopefully, we can start moving and do the repairs in say May,” he said. Interim General Manager Amelia Wilder said the work would allow the district to seek construction bids while waiting for suitable weather.

In the meantime, the board packet says the culverts will be plated through the winter.

Photos displayed during the meeting showed the extent of the deterioration. Wilder pointed to the growing sinkhole and the condition of the culverts, saying their bottoms were “completely gone.”

Pete Reagan, a contract inspector for the district and one of 10 candidates for the CSD Board, told directors that the eventual construction cost would be considerably more than the engineering work before them. Reagan, who said he originally installed the pipe, estimated the repair at about $300,000.

“You’re probably looking at about 300 grand here,” Reagan said. He said he planned to meet with the district engineer and Carskaddon at the site to show them the extent of the work he believed would be required.

After Director Randy Jenco clarified that the amount before the board was for engineering and the bid process, Reagan cautioned directors that they should “be prepared for a pretty good-sized bill here to repair this problem.”

Dutton Questions Culvert Responsibility

The Pera Drive discussion also revived a broader disagreement over responsibility for Rancho Murieta’s drainage system.

Rancho Murieta Country Club General Manager Eric Dutton questioned why CSD accepts responsibility for culverts beneath Pera Drive while maintaining that some culverts crossing Country Club property are not the district’s responsibility because CSD lacks easements.

“What I’m trying to fathom ... is how, when a culvert to run the district’s water through goes under a street, it’s the district’s responsibility,” Dutton said. “But if that same type of pipe runs through the golf course, it’s the golf course’s responsibility.”

Carskaddon responded that the Pera Drive culverts are within a public utility easement and pass through a public roadway rather than private property.

Dutton said he views the culverts beneath roads, the golf course and parks as parts of “one massive system that was adopted and pushed on the CSD” when the district became a governmental entity.

“To parcel out which ones are or aren’t seems a little bit selective,” Dutton said.

Board President John Merchant suggested the broader question of responsibility for drainage culverts beneath the golf course and public roads be taken up by the Improvements Committee.

Equestrian Center Emergency Remains Open

Another unfinished culvert project drew questions during the meeting.

The board’s consent calendar continued the emergency declaration for the Murieta Equestrian Center culvert replacement because railings had not yet been completed.

Jeff Pearson, speaking for the equestrian center, said the railings were not the only unfinished work. He told directors that the exposed slope at the project had not been stabilized.

“There’s been no slope stabilization that has occurred,” Pearson said. He said standard construction practice calls for exposed soil to be protected, such as with jute netting or hydroseeding, particularly with winter approaching.

“The time is now, and that’s not done,” Pearson said.

Wilder said the project would continue as an emergency item. She asked Carskaddon to contact district engineer Joe Domenichelli about the slope, and Director Tim Maybee asked that the matter also be placed before the Improvements Committee.

District Adds Cybersecurity Protection

Cybersecurity was among other expenditures considered by the board.

Wilder told directors that cyberattacks are an increasing concern for water agencies, including smaller districts, and can result in agencies being locked out of their systems or facing ransom demands.

The additional cybersecurity services were priced at $1,764 a month, or $21,168 for one year.

Other Projects Move Ahead

Carskaddon also updated directors on several other district projects.

At Clementia Reservoir, replacement of the overflow storm drain has been completed, although finishing work remains, including covering the pipe and completing the rock and concrete headwall.

At the wastewater treatment plant, staff is preparing for rehabilitation of filter beds that have been corroding more rapidly following the switch to liquid chlorine. The work was not originally a planned budget project, and staff is preparing a request for proposals to bring to the Improvements Committee.

Repairs to the Rio Oso water tank generator, including parts and labor, were expected to cost just under $20,000 and had been approved. A larger rehabilitation of the Rio Oso tank is also being considered and is expected to go before the Improvements Committee.

The Aug. 26 meeting also included discussion of the district’s audits and financial condition. See separate story on the Finance Committee’s review of the audits and district finances.