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Director's report: production steady, Cater Reservoir bids high; desal plant curtailed through October to pursue maintenance
Summary
Staff reported steady production, higher-than-expected bids for the Cater Reservoir resiliency project (average ~$42 million, about 40% over engineers' estimate), a plan to idle the desalination plant until October for capital work, and estimated energy and chemical savings of roughly $1.0 million during the curtailment.
Miss Gordon, presenting notes from Director Hegmark, summarized operations and capital updates for the commission.
Staff reported December 2025 production of about 360.59 acre-feet and January 2026 production of about 360.62 acre-feet; system-wide use for the billing period was reported at 666 acre-feet. Recycled-water deliveries for the month were low (about 30 acre-feet) because the recycled plant was idled while Kachuma/Cachuma and Devil's Canyon were in spill conditions.
Staff said the city received three bids for the Cater Reservoir resiliency project with an average of $42 million — approximately 40% above the design engineer's estimate. Major cost drivers cited included concrete, labor and trucking. Staff said the project will be awarded using a best-value selection process and that staff will attempt to negotiate scope and cost savings with the selected contractor before bringing a contract to the water commission and council (anticipated April commission review).
On revenues, water revenues for January were 18% below projections (reflecting lower November water use due to heavy November rainfall). Staff projected water revenues to end the fiscal year about $4 million below target and wastewater revenues about $700,000 below target.
Staff also reported idling the desalination and recycled-water plants as of Feb. 1 because of spill conditions and noted the desal plant is scheduled to return to service in October 2026. Bradley Rayer, principal project manager overseeing desal operations, said curtailing the plant through October would save money primarily from energy and chemical costs and estimated savings in the ballpark of $1.0 million, while also allowing operators to perform maintenance and capital modifications.
On contracting, staff said negotiations on the Cater CMAR contract had reached an impasse over risk-sharing and that the city will re-bid with clarified contract language.
Commissioners asked about interim staffing and the use of operations staff during the curtailment; Mr. Rayer said some IDE operations staff will transition to maintenance work and that five shift operators cover the normal 24-hour operations but will report daily during the curtailment to support maintenance and pilot activities.
Staff had no formal action requests tied to the director's report at this meeting.
