LOS ANGELES, June 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recognizing that years of deferred maintenance resulted in discolored water, the new Sativa Los Angeles County Water District (Sativa) management is implementing a masterplan to address the aging water infrastructure and concerns of residents serviced by the District.
We want to assure residents that their water is safe and that Sativa will continue to serve the community for the foreseeable future. The health and safety of our residents is of the utmost importance and that is why we are aggressively seeking millions of dollars to improve water quality and reliability for our customers. It is important that our customers know that we are committed to addressing the aging infrastructure and operating the District in a way that best serves the needs of our residents.
During last night’s town hall meeting, it was alleged that people were paid to pose as residents to speak in favor of the district. Let the record be clear, the district absolutely and categorically denies that it in any way paid anyone to attend or speak on behalf of the district. The allegation that the district engaged in any such inappropriate conduct is simply misplaced.
Recently, the Sativa Board approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) to provide full management and administration responsibility for grant funding management, planning, engineering design, and construction of infrastructure projects to improve the reliability of Sativa’s system. Earlier this year, WRD provided $253,000 for Sativa, to fund the design of the first of several projects that will immediately address the water issues facing the district. WRD will manage the design and construction of several key projects that will greatly improve water reliability for the community.
Our plan for current and future upgrades and maintenance focuses on several priority projects. High priority projects include those that serve to address the most critical system needs including sediment build up in pipelines and old pipeline replacement. We remain committed to providing a safe and reliable supply of water to our customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sativa is currently engaged in the planning, design and construction of new supply infrastructure to fix and replace the aging system for our 1,600 connections. In addition, the District has identified several supply projects that qualify for Proposition 1 Water Bond Grant funding from the State of California.
We understand that the aesthetic appearance of discolored water caused by old pipelines, while safe to drink, is not acceptable. Sativa is planning a pipeline replacement program that will replace old, undersized pipeline to improve water supply, fire flow, and to meet the system's water demand peak requirements. The plan includes the design and construction of adequately sized pipelines between the interties, the wells, and storage facilities. Without this critical element, the water supply cannot be safely and reliably provided to the customers, regardless of the provider.
Sativa recognizes that we currently operate an aged system. That is why we are focused on improving the District’s services and remain fully committed to continuing to provide safe, reliable water services to our residents.