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    Advisory | On the Proposed Capital Improvement Project for Ventura Water Supply

    By Daniel Cormode 

    Mayor and Members of the City Council,

    1. Discussion of the City of San Buenaventura Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is scheduled for the City Council Meeting on Monday, March 18, 2019.  Included in the proposed CIP are capital improvement projects related to the water supply.
    2. To date, the Water Commission has not demonstrated proactive leadership in identifying the magnitude of sustainable water supply under the current hydrogeological, climatic, environmental and political conditions facing Ventura Water nor identified a plan of actions and milestones to achieve a sustainable water supply.
    3. Project costs identified in the 2018-2024 CIP do not include the estimated 41% additional finance costs based on financing 50% of the project cost for 30 years at a 4.5% rate of interest.
    4. Project schedules only reflect the CIP planning horizon of 6 years and do not necessarily indicate the project completion or operational date.
    5. Net Zero Fees appear to not be based on the costs for projecst listed in the 2018-2024 Capital Improvement Plan.  A comparison the proposed Net Zero Water Project Costs
    6. Evaluation of CIP Project and Net Zero Proposal data reveals serious discrepancies in the costs of potential water supply sources which cause one to question the integrity of the Proposed Net Zero Policy Ordinance.
    7. True Net Zero Unit Cost is estimated to be $78,060 per AF instead of $26,457 per AF as presented in the Staff Presentation.
    8. The true cost of the proposed Net Zero Policy Project is estimated to be $538M instead of the stated $248M.
    9. Use of a discount rate for estimating CIP costs is inappropriate since Net Zero fees are not collect up front and will not be interest bearing.
    10. CIP Costs appear to represent unknown CIP Costs discounted at rate of 2% for 30 years and not the actual 2016-2022 CIP Cost.
    11. Net Zero Finance costs are erroneously based on 50% of the Discounted  Capital costs and not 50% of the Total CIP Project cost.
    12. A chart depicting Milestones of City of San Buenaventura Water Related Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) , Figure 1, was developed from current Ventura Water documents to illustrate planned completion dates individual projects on one chart. The milestone chart revealed several inconsistencies in scheduled completion dates for some projects and completion of some projects far beyond the date when the new water supply is needed to meet the loss of a critical water supply.
    13. Milestones shown on the Milestones of Projects Related to Sources of Water were developed from 2018-2024 CIP project descriptions and may not indicate when the project will actually completed and become operational, i.e. the Advanced Water Purification Facility is not expected to become operational before 2025.
    14. Loss of water from Lake Casitas becoming dry occurs 2020 while water supply from direct potable reuse becomes available in 2030.
    15. The projected additional 2,500 acre-feet of water identified in the 2018 Comprehensive Water Resources Report resulting from the Foster Park Wellfield Restoration (CIP No. 97921) is identified as being available by 2025, however, other detailed construction schedules denote the necessary project components may not be completed by 2030.
    16. With exception of the direct potable reuse advanced water treatment plant and the Mound wells, none of the proposed water supply projects result in new sources of water.
    17. Total future not identified funding for the listed CIP projects less finance costs is $199,425,000.
    18. The following is a summary of the Detailed Comments to the Water Supply Related CIP Projects.
    19. The additional 2,500 acre-foot yield for the Foster Park Wellfield Production Restoration was based on the 1993 Montgomery Watson Evaluation of Potential Long Term Water Supplies Report which depended on increased surface diversion capability which was subsequently destroyed in 2005.
    20. Restoration of the Foster Park Intake Structure is not considered feasible due to the shift in course of the Venture River and other regulatory and environmental concerns.
    21. Additional new water from the Ventura River and Foster Park Wellfield may not be feasible to current litigation, environmental and sustainability regulations.
    22. Sustainable yields from the new Nye Wells have not been identified or quantified.
    23. For additional information, please feel free to contact Daniel Cormode by telephone at 805-647-4063 or by email at [email protected].

    Daniel Cormode is a Ventura resident and the Chairman of the Planning & Development Committee for The East Ventura Community Council. He  has dedicated his life to researching Ventura water issues.


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    Alfred B. Gonzalez
    Alfred B. Gonzalez
    5 years ago

    City of Ventura needs to take care of current infrastructure regarding the deplorable conditions on streets in and around city streets

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