Defending the water supply

Barbara Diamond

Terrorists who try to attack Laguna’s water supply will be putting

themselves at risk.

Laguna Beach County Water District officials said they have done

everything that possibly could be done at this time to protect the

city’s reservoirs and supply lines. They expect the district to pass

a post-Sept. 11, federally-mandated, water vulnerability assessment

with only minor tweaking to the system, if that.

“A lot of improvements in the system relate back to sweeping

changes after the [1993] fire,” said Renae Hinchey, general manager

of the district.

The district has already begun work on the assessment, which will

be due toward the end of 2003.

“We did an immediate assessment after 9-11 and prepared a confidential report for the district’s commissioners and the board of

directors [City Council],” said Dennis Hoffer, district operations

manager. “Our telemetry is flawless, including back-up computers. We

are absolutely emergency ready.”

A consultant will be hired to deal with the federal requirements

for reporting the assessment, according to Hoffer.

The district’s alarm system was improved after Sept. 11. If an

alarm goes off, the district’s telemetry automatically dials a cell

phone of a person at operations.

“An emergency call-out guy is available 24/7,” Hoffer said. The

system doesn’t stop calling until it reaches someone.

The district responds to every alarm.

“We don’t make assumptions,” Hoffer said.

The system also alerts the district if someone gets inside one of

the 23 reservoirs in Laguna.

“We monitor everything, all the time.” Hoffer said. “Before 9-11,

we were concerned about kids wanting to play on the tanks or vandals,

not terrorists.” Laguna Beach does not have a sufficient indigenous

water supply. The district was formed when the wells in Laguna Canyon

were tapped out. It was an independent entity until it became a

special district of the city.

Water is piped in through supply lines in Laguna Canyon and on

North Coast Highway, unfortunately well publicized before Sept. 11.

The water gets pumped to the reservoirs, one of which sits at the

highest elevation in Laguna. There are back-up generators, three

mobile, and two mobile pumps.

The system is designed to feed the 23 tanks. Isolating one of the

tanks does not affect the rest of the system, except to put more

demand on the functioning reservoirs.

In the event of a short-term disruption of service, such as a

broken water main, some residents may be without tap water for up to

eight hours during the repairs. The district tries to supply those

customers with bottled water.

Reservoir inspections were upped after Sept. 11 from three times a

week to once a day, sometimes twice a day.

The district is also prepared for a hostage situation, although

that was not the purpose of the job cross-training for employees.

“We rotate every two years,” Hoffer said. “Everyone gets an

opportunity to work all positions.”

The district employs 38 people, 20 of them in operations, 18 who

go out into the field.

Hoffer came to the district by happenstance.

“I was visiting a friend and I found a job,” Hoffer said.

“Subsequently, I went to school at a local college in certification

and degree programs.”

Hoffer and two district supervisors took special post-Sept. 11

training that involved the Environmental Protection Agency and was

influenced by the FBI. They passed down the training to the troops.

“We have a different perspective now of what to look for and how

to approach people,” Hoffer said. “We are more wary, more observant.”

The district also belongs to a county organization that does monthly

radio exercises. Employees train with the pumps and generators in the

field.

Water officials said the district is expending a lot of manpower

to make the water supply safe and will spend a lot more.

“Our function is to make sure we have an uninterrupted supply of

water,” Hoffer said.

* BARBARA DIAMOND is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321.