Would it save Graton money if we combined with Forestville?

By Jane Eagle

Sorry, no.

It is important to note that in the 10 years since Graton and Forestville each took control of our respective Districts, Forestville has had to ask Graton for help on several occasions (all of which cost Graton ratepayers - that's us - quite a lot of money). Forestville has not had a competent Board or General manager staying up at night trying to find ways to be more effective and save money...or they would not have needed our help. Some people think we should share a Board, General manager, operators and employees with Forestville to save money, but these ideas have already been proven to fail: When the Sonoma County Water Agency had responsibility for both Districts, management and employees were shared. When we finally got local control, Graton's facilities were falling apart because no maintenence or upgrades had been done with all the money we ratepayers had been charged for those things. Employees moved around, and no one was accountable; there was no loyalty. Would sharing a General Manager save Graton money? Sonoma County Water Agency has already proven for us (at our great expense) that absentee management does not work. A sewer treatment plant is a facility that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, unlike most commercial businesses. A Wastewater Treatment Plant, which deals with public health hazards, requires full time operators and supervision. "Sharing resources" will only benefit other communities at the GCSD's expense.

For the last ten years, since attaining local control, Graton has had a dedicated, passionate, and involved Board of ratepayers, who have hired a brilliant GM, outstanding operators, terrific staff and talented consultants. We have spent a great deal of time interviewing potential employees, and then monitoring their performance once hired; and meeting with innovators, economists and other professionals in order to meet mandated upgrades as inexpensively as possible, now and for the long run. Meanwhile, Forestville has been unable to find and hire operators, manage their wastewater without violations, meet their own recycled water needs, or even maintain their own Wastewater Treatment Plant ( Forestville has recently contracted with the Sonoma County Water Agency to maintain their treatment plant). Graton is poised to sell our newly tertiary water to offset operating expenses and therefore rates.

Graton has a great deal to offer to Forestville; but I cannot think of anything that Forestville has to offer Graton.

Every single time GCSD has attempted to work with Forestville it has cost the GCSD considerably: from waste water violations for processing waste water laden with copper, to sharing personnel (Forestville tried to hire the operators who GCSD had trained, at a higher salary than we could pay. In order to keep our operators, we had to give them raises, costing the GCSD at least $20,000 per year, ongoing). When Forestville and Graton each took control of our respective wastewater operations, almost all of the recycled water use contracts negotiated by Graton ratepayers were transferred to Forestville by the outgoing Sonoma County Water Agency. When Forestville had insufficient water to meet those demands and the users requested that Graton send water for frost protection, Graton was charged $25,000 for having the valve between the two Districts opened (we fought that fee, and eventually had it removed). Working with Forestville was ultimately a costly and unproductive venture for us, although Graton is certainly willing to help our neighbors as long as they pay the costs.

Hooking up to Forestville in any fashion, either physically or through merging Boards or sharing GMs and operators would be to adopt Forestville's very considerable problems, just as we in Graton have solved all of ours. The fact that Forestville's "state-of-the-art" membrane plant is currently under a Cease and Desist Order after having hundreds of violations right from startup is the best defense for the actions of the Board to search for an alternative treatment system. Here is the biggest problem with Forestville's Membrane Treatment Plant, which they were encouraged to build by the Sonoma County Water Agency: When the plant begins to treat wastewater with a new membrane, it produces almost pure water. That then sets the standard for the quality of water that they MUST produce. As the membrane filter becomes clogged and worn, the water has slight levels of contaminants; but since the plant once produced pure water, those slight contaminants become violations, which usually carry hefty fines. Replacing the membrane filters is also very costly. Graton's water will never be held to an impossibly high standard as Forestville's, all becasue of the treatment process that WE chose. Those of us ratepayers who have volunteered and served on the Board spent almost 5 of those years looking for a low cost alternative treatment for our wastewater that would not become more expensive over time, even in the face of rising gas and electricty costs. And Graton is about to have a ribbon cutting on our new low-tech, low-cost Wastewater Treatment plant.

Forestville currently doesn't meet tertiary standards, as evidenced by its very long list of violations. In terms of Forestville sending its water to Graton for processing. that may be an idea that can be implemented in the future but first Forestville must incur the cost of cleaning up its toxic-waste pond and removing the excess copper from its water. Graton does not have either problem now ... and should not be put in the position of helping to pay for Forestville's cleanup costs.

Would operational savings be achieved by sharing staff and resources with other wastewater districts? Possibly; however which District does the staff attend to when winter storms cause equipment and power failures, and sewer overflow stoppages? And, where would a staff members' loyalty lie? How would costs be distributed? Accounting becomes far more complex, and that ultimately increases financial costs; this would likely negate any savings.

To summarize, hooking up to Forestville in any fashion, either physically or through merging Boards or sharing GMs and operators would be to adopt Forestville's very considerable problems; and considering past experience, overall costly and devastating to our ratepayers and District.