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Tehachapi council approves termination of joint agreement to return Snyder Well to city system
Summary
The City Council approved terminating a 2016 joint-agency agreement so the city can disconnect the Snyder Well from the Cummings County Water District and reconnect it into the city system; council heard timeline, costs are part of a planned capital project.
The Tehachapi City Council on a 4-0 vote authorized terminating the 2016 joint-agency agreement with the Tehachapi–Cummings County Water District so the city can reconnect the Snyder Well into the city water system.
City staff said the Snyder Well had been operated through the joint project since 2016 after elevated nitrate levels led the city to disconnect the well from its system and link it to the Cummings distribution network. The well’s nitrate levels have declined, staff told the council, allowing the city to blend the water back into its system.
Don, a city staff presenter, told the council the original project provided the water district with additional production capacity during high demand and that the well has performed as intended. “The project's done exactly what it was intended to do,” he said, describing falling nitrate levels and the decision to bring the well back into city service.
Council members asked whether terminating the agreement would generate direct costs to the city or to the water district. Don said there are no direct costs tied to terminating the agreement; the city will incur capital costs to modify the pump and related equipment to reconnect the well, which are already planned in the 2025–26 capital budget.
Staff estimated that disconnecting and reconnecting the well itself would take about a week of work, but the full construction schedule includes pipeline work and other elements and could take several months. Don said bids are expected to be issued in the coming weeks and the city aims to have the well reconnected in the spring following construction.
The council voted to authorize the mayor to sign the termination agreement. The vote was recorded as 4-0 in favor.
The action returns a known, high-producing well to the city's portfolio without the time and uncertainty of drilling a new well, staff said.
Clarifying details recorded by staff and discussed with council include that the well will supply potable (drinking) water once reconnected, the mechanical work needed includes a pump replacement and ancillary modifications, and the capital costs are budgeted in the next fiscal year.
