Why is Fortuna building a new water tank instead of using Vancil reservoir?

By Janelle Egger

I looked for information on each of the reasons given for Stewart Street tank project. These are the facts I found.

Based on public records, including City records, I found the stated reasons to be misguided or incorrect. These are the facts I found:

--The 5 million gallon Vancil reservoir has 4 million gallons of unused storage. It is up the street from the proposed tank. In Fortuna's southeast there is an identified need for storage, but no proposed projects.

--The proposed 2 million gallon tank was sized only to meet current demand. With 4 million gallons of unused storage, Vancil will easily meet current and future growth needs in the north part of town.

--Built before the 1964 Christmas flood, Vancil was part of a water development program for a growing city with active wood products manufacturing sites.

--The City requested and was told there are no regulatory obstacles to using Vancil.

--The Water Bonds are not a legal obstacle to using Vancil; Fortuna is not required to build the proposed tank. The City Council can and has changed the 2006 bond funded projects.

--We were told the water rate increase was to borrow money (sell bonds) that would fund "urgent projects" required to fulfill the City's "current operational responsibilities."

--A pipeline between Vancil and downtown will make its 4million gallons available, providing needed fire protection.

--Using Vancil will make bond funds available for other necessary projects, allowing us to avoid an unnecessary rate increase.

--We can safely and reliably use Vancil for 50 years spending less than the cost of the proposed tank, plus interest.

--The 50-year estimate above is based on the January 2009 Staff Report's estimated energy cost increase of $10,000/year. Three months earlier, in September 2008, the City requested and received information that the actual cost would be half that, $5,000/year. Based on this, we could expect using Vancil would be significantly less than the proposed tank.

So, why are we building this tank? I still do not know the motivation for the tank, but I suspect and hope that this is a simple case of good intentions and faulty assumptions resulting in a misguided project.

But it is not too late to stop it. Three council members will be elected on Nov 2nd. Ask the candidates, will you reconsider the Stewart Street tank project?

For more information, the documentary, "Boondoggle in thrifty Fortuna?" details the information I found. It is available online at the Access Humboldt archives and on DVD at the Fortuna Library.