Top 3 Major Takeaways:
Emergency System Shutdown Highlights Infrastructure Vulnerabilities: On July 8th, birds flew into power poles causing the Pacheco pumping plant to shut down while flowing 90 CFS, forcing emergency shutdown of subsystems 1, 4, and 5 to prevent draining the Hollister conduit. The district had only 30 minutes to react and is still working through SCADA project implementation to enable remote control capabilities.
Recycled Water Program Operating at Significant Loss: The district sold only 286 acre-feet of recycled water but costs far exceed revenue, making the program financially unsustainable. Staff is exploring options including blending San Felipe water when available to reduce production costs and will present formal proposals next month.
Potential Water Supply Disruption in August: Valley Water's scheduled power pole repairs on August 15-16 will limit water delivery to 30 CFS, potentially requiring certain subsystems to schedule water usage during this period with advance grower notifications.
Additional Key Takeaways:
District expects to have excess CVP water available for transfer at favorable rates similar to last year
Water loss monitoring pilot project underway to align meter readings and identify potential system losses
ADROP project experiencing rebar installation issues by subcontractor, with structural engineer review underway
Pipeline and well site contract bidding closes Friday with expected value over $20 million
50 dump truck loads of silt removed from Zone 3 cleaning operations, more than anticipated
Sub 4 concrete leak discovered, moving planned winter shutdown to fall 2025
Meter replacement program ordering 80 units focusing on larger 8-12 inch meters first
SGMA periodic evaluation due in 18 months will trigger groundwater sustainability plan updates
Board Approvals:
For questions or to engage with district operations, contact the San Benito County Water District at 30 Mansfield Road, Hollister. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for August 27, 2025.
