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The Grand Jury finds Watt/El Camino area water district flooded with safety risks A seven-month investigation into a formal complaint against the Del Paso Manor Water District has led to a scathing report by the Sacramento County Grand Jury identifying a literal flood of concerns ranging from water contamination to aging infrastructure to non-compliance with State of California water monitoring requirements. The report cites an on-going significant lack of public transparency by the District’s Board of Directors to act on numerous recommended improvements made by its own consultants and other entities. A failure to complete an estimated $35 million in repairs and upgrades could have disastrous results, including the potential failure of the entire water complex. The approximately onesquare mile water district sits at the crossroads of Watt and El Camino avenues. Commercial and residential customers may be largely unaware that their
water service is provided by just two wells and funneled through pipelines which are more than 60 years old. Thousands of people pass through the area daily to access the Interstate 80 corridor, and well-known businesses such as AT&T, Emigh Hardware, and WinCo are located inside the district’s boundaries. “This District is operating under a Water Master Plan and a Municipal Service Review which are more than a decade old,” explains Grand Jury Foreperson Deanna Hanson. “ The idea that officials are doing business ‘behind the floodgates’ so to speak does a disservice to the public and its right to understand the impact of vital safety issues, as well as the looming financial impacts.” The Grand Jury reviewed thousands of pages of documents and conducted numerous interviews during its investigation, discovering a district in dis-
array with four General Managers having resigned in just a two-year period. Then, the majority of the Board of Directors walked away from their positions in September 2021. The District received a Notice of Violation from the State of California Water Resources Board Division of Drinking Water for failing to timely notify ratepayers about a water well contaminated with PCE. Additionally, the Office of Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert issued a “Cure and Correct” letter to the water district for disregarding proper notification requirements in awarding funding for an engineering contract. The report has been issued to the Del Paso Manor Water District Board of Directors, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, and others for a response. To read the report, visit http://www.sacgrandjury. org.
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Arden-Carmichael News • December 10, 2021 • www.valcomnews.com
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