Marin Water Grand Jury Response: A Legal Requirement and a Public Service

The Marin County Grand Jury is formed each year by a three step process: an accepted application, an interview with two former jurors and a random drawing in the courtroom. To be eligible, jurors must be a “U.S. citizen, 18 years of age or older, who has been a resident of the County for one year…of intelligence and good character, with a working knowledge of the English language”.

During its 2022 term, the Marin Grand Jury issued six reports, each of which includes Findings and Recommendations. California law requires a Response by any agency named in the report within 90 days. Hence, the process is not over until the required response is submitted and considered.

The Grand Jury report, “A Roadmap for Water Resilience”, was published on June 13, 2022 and Marin Water’s response was submitted on September 8th. The substance of Marin Water's response, while agreeing with a number of its Findings and Recommendations, pointed out a significant number of substantive errors and factual omissions in the report. https://www.marinwater.org/node/975

For example, two major water supply improvements were not included in the report released to the public and amplified in later media reports. These efforts included rehabilitation of our Kastania pumps in Sonoma County which increased the flow of our supply of Russian River water by up to 10,000 acre feet per year and our newly constructed recycled water plant at Las Gallinas that has increased its capacity by over 4,000 additional acre feet. At full yearly production, these two projects provide a portfolio of new water supplies larger than the combined capacity of Bon Tempe Reservoir and Alpine Lake. And both the Kastania and Las Gallinas projects were completed long before the Grand Jury posted its report.

The Grand Jury report also asserted that Marin Water should move forward with direct potable reuse of wastewater. This finding ignores the fact that direct potable reuse of wastewater is legally prohibited under current California regulations. Elsewhere, the report criticizes the District for ‘hastily’ pursuing a pipeline over the Richmond Bridge while later recommending that the district construct such a pipeline. The report again fails to mention that the district had already begun the required environmental review process in order to determine what steps need to be undertaken to pursue such a project--again well before the report was published.

In addition to their Findings, the Grand Jury process also makes Recommendations. In this case, the Grand Jury made 7 recommendations. Perhaps the least publicized fact has been that most of the Recommendations have already been implemented by Marin Water: We have already conservatively increased supply by almost 10,000  out of the recommended 10 - 15,000 acre feet; we are already in the final phase of completing our Strategic Water Supply Assessment to chart a roadmap to resilience; our supply assessment is already examining the feasibility of "drought proof" supply options; and we are already continuing to work to strengthen our regional partnerships with Sonoma and elsewhere as exemplified by the Kastania project which involved the collaboration of both the Sonoma and North Marin water agencies.

Right now, Marin's water local reservoir supplies are at 106% of normal while the rest of the State is in severe drought. We are the only Bay Area water agency which is not currently requiring water use restrictions. Marin Water Directors and staff understand that this respite does not assure our water security and are in the midst of a public and transparent Strategic Water Supply assessment that will consider the feasibility of all options.

Climate change presents enormous challenges that require access to thorough and accurate information. Both the Grand Jury report--and Marin Water's measured response--are an integral part of that process and stand as a public service to the community we both serve. 

Marin Grand Jury Report: Response from Cynthia Koehler

By Cynthia Koehler, Director, Marin Water, Division 4 on September 9, 2022

Editorial: It’s time to put MMWD on video

By MARIN IJ EDITORIAL BOARD |

July 14, 2019 at 10:06 a.m.

For many years, the Marin Board of Supervisors has videotaped its meetings so they could be viewed on TV or a computer as a way to promote greater public awareness about the way they are conducting the public’s business.

The viewers get to see the public decision-making firsthand, even though they can’t attend the board’s morning and afternoon meetings.

In recent years, most of Marin’s city and town councils have taken the same step.

But one prominent public agency, the Marin Municipal Water District, has not.

That might be changing, slowly.

The MMWD is starting to head in that direction, thanks to leadership from board President Larry Bragman, who cited broadcasting board meetings as one of the reforms needed after the district’s contentious debate over its new and more costly rate structure.

The MMWD board in June directed district staff to draft a plan to videotape and livestream its board meetings.

Bragman called the move a reflection of the board’s commitment to accountability.

We suggest that it is overdue — long overdue.

Of course, if the board videotapes its meetings then there might be more pressure on directors to actually show up for meetings.

The MMWD board has a reputation for allowing directors to call in to attend meetings.

It is a rarity for other boards, but routine for MMWD.

It is time for the board to adopt reasonable in-person attendance requirements. Their constituents deserve to see their representatives at work, not just hear them, not knowing whether the directors are actually paying attention to the meetings that they cannot attend in person.

Director Jack Gibson has said he would support not only livestreaming board meetings, but special committee meetings, as well.

MMWD already spends a lot on its public information division. Much of its focus is typically the promotion of water conservation. But it is time for the livestreaming of board meetings be part of MMWD’s public information.

In recent weeks, MMWD General Manager Ben Hornstein attended local city and town council meetings to present the district’s rate proposal. Most of those meetings were videotaped. They became ways that the public learned and heard about MMWD’s plan and the reason for the proposed changes.

The public also got a good dose of criticism toward the plan.

But when it came to the MMWD board actually voting on adopting the plan, members of the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, opponents for the rate hike, ended up footing the bill for videotaping the proceedings.

It is time for the MMWD to step up and do the right thing by improving public transparency and accountability by videotaping and posting its board meetings. The investment is minimal compared to the message it sends to those the MMWD directors are elected to represent.

Originally published in the Marin Independent Journal https://www.marinij.com/2019/07/14/editorial-its-time-to-put-mmwd-on-video/

Marin Voice: Protection of National Marine Sanctuaries Vital for Local Communities

In addition to providing pure and healthful drinking water to 186,000 people in Marin County, the core mission of Marin Municipal Water District includes a comprehensive stewardship effort to enhance the habitat of Lagunitas Creek and Walker Creek watersheds. Both provide habitat for endangered native species including steelhead trout, coho salmon and freshwater shrimp.

The Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries off the Marin coast both play an indispensable role in our efforts to protect these species from extinction.

Each of the areas designated as a National Marine Sanctuary has been carefully studied to establish their qualifications for protected status.

The Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank sanctuaries provide habitat and refuge essential for the survival of the coho and steelhead that spawn in Lagunitas Creek and Walker Creek. Both creeks empty into Tomales Bay, which itself is within the protection of the Greater Farallones Sanctuary.

Unfortunately, both of these nearby sanctuaries are targeted for mineral, gas and oil exploration and extraction under President Donald Trump’s ill-conceived Executive Order 13795.

Executive Order 13795 seeks to re-evaluate environmental protection for these and other National Marine Sanctuaries based on an “opportunity cost” analysis which focuses on the potential revenue generated by extraction of mineral resources from these natural treasures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which administers the National Marine Sanctuary program, defines opportunity cost as “… the value of the next most preferred use. Opportunity costs exist only in situations where there is a scarcity of the resource.”

Given the abundance of developed and recoverable energy and mineral resources in the United States, there is no basis to conclude that exploitation of such resources located in National Marine Sanctuaries is necessary “to accommodate all of the existing demands.”

While the Trump administration has characterized the National Marine Sanctuary program as a “massive federal land grab,” Executive Order 13795 stands that concept on its head by facilitating the corporate colonization of these public assets.

The president’s opportunity cost analysis weighs short-term monetary gains posted by resource-extraction industry against the enduring public health and economic value of a healthy ocean habitat. The subsidized profits of the fossil fuel industry should not and cannot be weighed against the long-term benefits generated by our sustainable local economy including recreational and commercial fishing, tourism and aquaculture.

Recognizing the inherent danger that subsurface oil and gas drilling present to the ocean habitats and nearby coastal communities, both the Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine sanctuaries have specific management provisions that prohibit the exploration, development and production of oil, gas and minerals.

Extraction of gas and oil resources in these sanctuaries is incompatible with their core mission to conserve “sanctuary resources,” which includes the endangered coho and steelhead which MMWD, and its public partners, are trying to preserve for future generations.

Our community’s health and much of its economic vitality depends upon the health of our watersheds, and the health of those watersheds is inextricably intertwined with the adjoining marine habitat of both the Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine sanctuaries.

In recognition of this timeless environmental relationship, on Aug. 15 the Board of Directors of the Marin Municipal Water District unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Trump administration’s unprecedented efforts to abolish key protections for the Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marin sanctuaries.

While some have derided these sanctuaries as “environmental elitism,” in truth each was designated in recognition of their singular importance to the interconnected web of planetary life, including endangered local native species and future generations of Marin residents.

Originally published in the Marin Independent Journal: September 7, 2017 at 5:15 p.m. | UPDATED: July 19, 2018 at 11:39 a.m. https://www.marinij.com/2017/09/07/marin-voice-protection-of-national-marine-sanctuaries-vital-for-local-communities/

Solving the Climate Change Puzzle

While 95% of the rest of the state remains in severe drought,  Marin’s seven reservoirs are now at over 100% of normal storage. In spite of our temporary reprieve, Marin needs to continue to brace for climate change. Here is what Marin Water is doing to bolster Marin’s water supply, build climate resilience and meet the Marin Grand Jury’s recommendation to increase supplies by 10-15,000 acre feet.

In January, Marin Water renovated the Kastania Pump Station, south of Petaluma, on time and on budget. This unheralded regional achievement expands Marin Water’s capacity to import an additional 5,000 acre feet of ‘winter water’ from the Russian River. This increase is equivalent to the size of Bon Tempe Reservoir.  

In early 2021, we added another 4,000 acre feet of supply by rebuilding a state-of-the-art recycled water plant in partnership with Las Gallinas Sanitary District. This 400% increase in production is now being used for landscapes, gardens and other non-potable uses in our San Rafael "purple pipe" district. A planned project to extend a recycled water pipeline to Peacock Gap is also underway. 

We are also in the process of redesigning our Phoenix Lake transmission system. This improvement could add up to 1,000 acre feet of water to our supply portfolio from this previously underperforming asset. 

Our ongoing Water Supply Assessment process is reviewing the feasibility of all options. Expanding local reservoir storage with installation of cost-effective spillway gates at Nicasio and Kent Reservoirs could provide a significant increase in local supply with the flexibility to release water for habitat needs. And improved water recycling at the Central Marin Sanitary Agency could provide San Quentin the ability to flush the toilets of 4,000 inmates. 

Recognizing that desalination could supplement rainfall in drought years, we are also carefully reviewing several potential scenarios. One possible location near the Petaluma River brackish water aquifer shows promise as a shared regional plant that may avoid some of the environmental pitfalls of other locations.  Desalination requires a vote of Marin residents and it remains to be seen whether it would be affordable and equitable for our customers - 70% of whom are Tier 1 water users.

As water supplies were declining in 2021, Marin Water created an emergency plan for a pipeline on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Pipes and pumps were acquired, and negotiations for water rights were underway when adequate rainfall ended our emergency status.We are continuing the mandatory environmental review process to determine whether the estimated $100 million bridge pipeline is an acceptable option.

Improved conservation and efficiency efforts also need to play an important role in climate change resilience because every gallon saved bolsters supply. In response to last year's drought, we expanded water saving incentives for residents including rebates for turf replacement, gray water systems, rainwater catchment and pool covers. Marin residents reaffirmed their historic commitment to living within their means and achieved a peak 40% savings in water use. They deserve our gratitude and appreciation for their efforts! 

Generous rebates also led to the widespread adoption of the Flume smartphone monitor by Marin residents. The Flume provides instant leak detection and real time household water use data. At the same time, Marin Water has long employed a system-wide leak detection program to identify and replace leak-prone pipes from our 900 mile transmission system. 

Wildfire is the climate change bookend for Marin's water supply challenges. Wildfire is a grave threat to the health of our Mt. Tam watershed, water quality and public safety. In response, Marin Water implemented a robust, herbicide free, vegetation management program. Reducing ladder fuels and brush reduces wildfire risk and can increase surface water flow into our reservoirs. Last year, our crews completed over 1,000 acres of watershed lands. We are also continuously improving our approach to wildfire risk by utilizing evolving forestry management practices. 

Ultimately, Marin needs to take a holistic approach to water supply to meet the challenges that climate change presents. Conservation, increased supply resiliency and watershed stewardship are complementary pieces of the climate change puzzle that our community will need to solve together to ensure our water future.

*Originally published in the Marin Independent Journal as Marin Voice: MMWD direct details response to county water supply crisis on August 5, 2022.

Fire on the Mountain—a Wake Up Call that Could Save Lives

The Marin Watershed has seen several small fires in the past month. These ignitions were all controlled without extensive damage but they do provide a wake-up call for the community that could save lives. While Marin Water’s historic management of the watershed has been exemplary, it also needs to evolve to meet both changing climate and development patterns.

Over 100 years ago, Marin Municipal Water District was formed as the very first “special district” in the State of California. The formation of the district was a victory for public water and the end of the private interests that previously controlled Marin’s municipal water sources.

Integral to the formation of the district was the acquisition of the Mt. Tamalpais watershed, which contains the pristine upper reaches of Lagunitas Creek. The voters of Marin County passed a bond measure to acquire these lands from the private water companies that had long monopolized water utility service in Marin. Marin voters approved the measure to both protect the 21,000 acre Mt. Tam watershed for water supply and a public park.

In recent years, the scope of Marin Water’s watershed Mt. Tam stewardship responsibilities have vastly expanded. Our duties now include habitat protection and restoration for the unique and protected species that live in the region, study and implementation of new ways to reduce invasive species and fire fuel reduction to protect the watershed from the devastation of wildfire. Wildfire will not only destroy fauna and flora, it could also imperil our water supply with by deposition of ash and erosion into our reservoirs.

In response to that responsibility, Marin Water undertook an extensive study of vegetation management and fire fuel reduction. The final study, the Biodiversity, Fire, and Fuels Integrated Plan (BFFIP), is a living document that provides an “adaptive management” framework for fire safety in a world evolving with the impact of urbanization and climate change.

Among its many path-breaking approaches, the BFFIP eliminates the use of toxic herbicides to control invasive Scotch and French broom, star thistle and other undesirable species. The final BFFIP is reviewed and modified on a yearly basis to address the changing conditions and knowledge base used to manage our watershed. Watershed BFFIP FY 2021 Report

In addition to its vegetation management duties, Marin Water also monitors the watershed for fire ignitions. With climate change, these ignitions can quickly grow into serious fires depending on wind and fire fuel conditions. I believe that Marin Water and its watershed partners should consider some approaches which may improve ignition detection time.

Marin Water relies upon the Marin County Fire Department to provide primary fire fighting capacity. However, our rangers remain the front line of fire protection. While the rangers excel in this area, I believe their response efforts could be boosted with a specialized wildland fire response vehicle. These vehicles have a larger capacity water tank and a more advanced delivery system. Such a piece of equipment would give our rangers a better tool to respond to a fire or ignition event.

Marin Water should also acquire a comprehensive survey of cell coverage in the watershed. Not only is cellular data collection a vital tool for reporting fires, such data can be used for Recreation Plan, visitor counts, rescues, etc. Marin Water leases numerous cell sites in the watershed and those companies may have the data we need to get this done. This may allow us to install a dedicated emergency call channel for the watershed.

It’s probably also time for all of the land management agencies on Mount Tamalpais to work together to ensure that the fire watch tower on the East Peak is staffed 24/7 during our ever expanding fire season. While PGE has high tech smoke detectors in place, vigilant human observation can often spot and locate an ignition quickly and efficiently. We also need to integrate the data generated by PGE into our dispatch and communications systems.

It’s also worth exploring formation of a citizens fire reporting brigade that would be trained how to immediately report a fire ignitions with their cell phones. Such a program could help reduce delays in spotting ignitions quickly which is so critical in controlling them. Installation of instructional signs during fire season may also give visitors the wherewithal to report fires promptly.

Lastly, for over twenty years Marin Water has partnered with local fire agencies in the successful Fire Flow Improvement Program. This program has addressed fire flow deficient hydrants in Marin’s many far-flung neighborhoods that are served by our district. Fire flow improvements need to be monitored and addressed on an ongoing basis. This continuing work reflects the importance of preparation and vigilance to protect our watershed and the surrounding community from wildfire. In the end, our investments in safety will pay for themselves many times over.