ANNOUNCEMENTS
WATER CONSERVATION URGED
Due to the ongoing drought, the Governor has urged all Californians to reduce water consumption by 15%. That basically means taking shorter showers, washing only full loads of clothes or dishes, limiting car washing and reducing the amount of watering time for yard vegetation. For example, if your watering timer is currently set for 30 minutes, cut it back to a setting of 25 minutes.
Preventing Home Water Damage
Winter’s freezing temperatures pose a particular hazard to unoccupied homes at Lake Almanor West. It becomes easy for water lines, fittings or fixtures to freeze under such conditions, especially when we experience power outages that prevent furnaces from operating or if a propane tank runs out. The resulting water damage can be catastrophic. There have been far too many cases like this over the years, which leads us to STRONGLY recommend that you TURN OFF THE WATER WHEN YOU LEAVE. Even during the warm months, a broken washing machine hose or a cracked fixture can produce similar devastating results. So when you are away, even for a couple of days, PLEASE protect your investment and turn off the water.
How to Turn Off the Water
So WAMWCo recommends that we turn off the water to the house whenever we will be gone for more than a couple of days.
OK … how do we do that?
Most homes in the development have a shutoff valve where the water enters the house. The valve may be located in a subsurface box with an access lid or it may be completely covered with only a wrench T-handle visible above ground. The valve is usually a “stop and waste” type (pictured below), which means that when the valve is closed, pressurized water on the house side sprays out of a small port until the pressure is relieved. This doesn’t fully drain the house, so if you are “winterizing” your home there are some additional steps involved (not discussed here). Turning the valve off or on requires use of a special wrench with a slotted fitting on the end to fit over the raised “blade” on the valve (photo below). In some cases the wrench is permanently attached to the valve while others use a detachable wrench. A quarter turn in the clockwise direction closes the valve. When it’s time to reopen the valve to get water running again, a quarter turn in the counterclockwise direction will do the trick. With this type of valve, it is important that it be fully closed or fully opened to avoid leakage.
It is important that property owners use their own valve(s) for primary control of water to the parcel, such as routine maintenance or when absent from the residence. Please do NOT use the water company valve at the meter for such purposes.
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If you don’t already know where your house water shutoff valve is located, take some time soon to find it, before there is a pressing need. You might even want to practice gently turning the water off and on. If in doubt, check with your plumber.
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BOARD MEETING AGENDA
Regular Board Meeting
WAMWCo Board of Directors will meet at
10:00 am, Wednesday, July 20, 2022,
at the Lake Almanor West fire hall,
947 Long Iron Drive
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BOARD MEETING DRAFT MINUTES
WAMWCo meeting minutes posted here are unofficial drafts until approved at the next meeting. Draft minutes for the most recent Board meeting are as follows:
Regular Meeting on June 15, 2022
Directors Present:
Dale Bornhorst, President
Bob Viets, Vice President
David Nissim, Treasurer
Jim Smith, Secretary
Directors Absent:
Lou Mullikin, Director
Others Attending:
Allysha Mattingly, Chris Durkiin
Meeting was called to order by President Bornhorst at 10:00 a.m. LAW Firehall, 947 Long Iron Dr. Chester, CA 96020.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOVED by David Nissim, SECONDED by Jim Smith, and PASSED 4-0 to approve the minutes as prepared for the meeting held 5/18/2022.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: None
CORRESPONDENCE: President Bornhorst shared that he had a conversation with a disgruntled customer about their water bill and possible leak. He discussed with the customer about the smart meter change over and checked for leaks and determined there was a small leak present.
MEMBER’S FORUM: None
OFFICE MANAGER REPORT - ALLYSHA MATTINGLY:
- 1) Between May and June, one unimproved property and two improved properties are in escrow.
- 2) Between May and June, one unimproved and three improved properties have closed.
- 3) There have been no service connection requests this last month.
- 4) The May surcharge billings were sent out on May 27, 2022 totaling $18,650.03.
- 5) Of the $18,650.03 from the total May surcharge billing, $16,937.70 remains to be collected.
- 6) WAMWCO currently has 35 past due invoices from the 2022 annual assessment billing, 19
improved lots and 16 unimproved lots. - 7) WAMWCO currently has 3 prior year past due invoices from the 2021 annual assessment
billing, 2 improved lots and 1 unimproved lot. - 8) The summer newsletter and Consumer Confidence Report is scheduled to be sent out
within the next week.
- 1) Treasurer Nissim reported that after an adjustment in the 2021 expenses – there were expenses recorded as operating expenses that were changed to reserve expenses – the WAMWCO’s net profit changed from ~$4,000 to ~$21,000 at the end of 2021.
- 2) Treasurer Nissim updated the board that the solar power panel project is now looking into the possibility of installing 15 foot pillars over the maintenance sheds. This would require the removal of 10 trees and the cost projection for the solar panel project is estimated to be around 1 million dollars.
Completed Projects:
- 1) Chris reported that the usage in June was around 350,000 gal/day (down from June 2021)
- 2) Pine needle cleanup
- 3) Mowed around PH
- 4) Scheduled Liquivision to clean tanks in July
- 5) Received first partial order of 29 smart meters - 3/4" meters
- 6) Repaired leak on LAW
1) Generator maintenance
2) Flow meter maintenance
3) Flush fire hydrants
4) Repair on Kokanee
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
1) Smart Meter Update: a. President Bornhorst and Director Lou Mullikin inventoried the meters for next year’s purchase order. The smart meters are being changed out in the order the division was developed, from oldest to newest.
NEW BUSINESS:
1) New Projects: a. President Bornhorst asked the board what new projects the WAMWCO should look into. Ideas presented by the board included: replacing phase 1 water main, replace old pipe, smart meter installation at PH 5 and PH 3, second supply line to tanks, replace pump panel #6
2) Policy 3.08 a. President Bornhorst reviewed the 2018 amendment made to policy 3.08 – to address how we go about calculating leak adjustments.
3) Policy 3.05 a. President Bornhorst reviewed the current charges and fees for various services provided by WAMWCO. The board discussed updating policy 3.05 annually. b. MOVED by David Nissim, SECONDED by Bob Viets, and PASSED 4-0 to approve to update fees on policy 3.05 annually.
4) Drought Plan:
a. President Bornhorst discussed with the board that the state will soon be requesting WAMWCO to instill water conservation rules. The board discussed the drought plans of other counties. The board has included in the summer newsletter a request for voluntary reduction in water usage.
5) Annual Meeting: a. This year’s annual meeting will be held Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 10:35 am with the WAMWCO presenting first followed by WACC. President Bornhorst inquired about which board members would be present and went over the agenda items with the board.
CLOSE BOARD MEETING: Meeting adjourned by President Bornhorst at 11:40 a.m. NEXT MEETING DATE: July 20, 2022
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FINANCIAL DATA
Current corporate financial details are proprietary information and are not displayed on this public website. Lake Almanor West property owners should contact the WAMWCo office to request an e-mail copy (PDF file) of such data. The current newsletter is found at this LINK, and fiscal year budget is found at this LINK. The most recent independent audit report is found at this LINK.
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RESIDENTIAL WATER QUALITY MONITORING
The most recent Consumer Confidence Report, required by federal and state regulations, is found at this LINK .
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