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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/22/19625. William Houser, City Attorney reported to the City Council that the Board of Supervisors were planning a meeting with the City Council, County Health Department, Bureau of Sanitation, Etc., March 22, 1962 and that he will keep the Council posted on this meeting as it developes. The City Council members present discussed at length some of the problems and matters that must be considered for the meeting on March 22, 1962 with the Board of Supervisors regarding expanding recreation at Santa Margarita Lake. On motion of Councilman Miller, seconded by Councilman Graves, the meeting was adjourned. ' Approved this,?/ ay ofA�1'�lOL �2 ,001ty Cler r SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL Thursday, March 22, 1962 - 5:00 A.M. CITY HALL Roll Call Present: Miss Margaret McNeil, R. L. Graves, Jr., Donald Q. Miller, Gerald . W. Shipsey, Clay P. Davidson Absent: None City Staff Present: Administrative Officer, R. D. Miller; City Clerk, J. H. Fitzpatrick; City Attorney, Houser; City Engineer, Romero; Planning Director, Abraham. ' 1. The City Council discussed the proposal of allowing additional recreation under contract of the County at Santa Margarita Lake, and discussed the preparation of a statement by the Council to the County Board of Super- visors at the joint meeting to be held at 10:00 A.M. this date. Mayor Davidson called a recess at 9:35 A.M., the meeting reconvened at 10:20 A.M. with all Councilmen present. Supervisor Alton Lee called the meeting to order at 10:20 A.M. Supervisor Lee introduced the members of the County Board of Supervisors present and County Staff. Mayor Davidson introduced the members of the City Council and City Staff present. Supervisor Lee introduced the following people from the State Department of Public Health: H. J. Ongerth, E. A. Reinke, Timothy J. Gannon and from the U. S. Army..Corps of Engineers, Land Management, John Houston. Supervisor Lee requested that the County Administrative Officer read for the information of the people present the agreement between the County of San Luis Obispo and the U. S. Army for recreational use of Santa Margarita Lake. ' Mayor Davidson read the following statement on behalf of the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo: "As we discuss the problem of the City's Salinas water supply today we must first realize there should be a mutual understanding between "City and County agencies that the City holds a right to the water which we are using and must expect that this water in storage be kept in the best possible condition considering the facility was built primarily to be used as a Domestic Water Supply. Recongizing the availability of this water supply, the City developed a modern filtration plant in late 1951. "Before going further we would like to present a brief historical back - ground of the Salinas Dam. "In 1949 the -City was using Santa Margarita Lake water for domestic use without filtration and received approved certification from the State Health Department because there were no adverse becteria tests. "In 1951 -52 the City built a filtration plant to provide its citizens with even better quality water and continued to receive unrestricted Health Department approval until 1957, when the Lake had been opened to recreational use. "Since then, certification has been provisional because the water failed to meet the standards of the U. S. Public Health Service. In the summer of 1961, the;Santa Margarita water supply deteriorated to the point that the color, taste and odor became obnoxious and the adverse bacteria tests increased in spite of the heavily increased doses of the heavily increased doses of chlorine to the point where people were also complaining of the excess chlorine taste. In spite of the heavy chlorine use the water failed to meet the Interstate Commerce Commission Minimum Bacteriological Standards, jeopardizing our permit to supply water to Interstate Commerce. "Some recreational groups and officials have stated that the question is simply one of whether or not the recreation is causing any actual contamination. What they ignore or overlook is that the State .Health Department requires that water be wholesome and palatable, which covers odor, taste, color and mineral content. These minimum state standards were violated by the'City during 1961. If anyone seriously questions the repeated violations of the pure and wholesome state standards, they need only check with the Health Department tests. "The City's treatment facilities were not designed to treat water of the present poor quality and to add to the problem, the facilities are now forced to operate in excess of their capacity. The additional cost of treating the deteriorated water supply has been borne solely by the City in the hopes that it was only a temporary problem. "The Council feels that their duty-to 22,000 inhabitants is not merely to supply water that barely meets the'Health Department standards, but that the people are entitled to the highest quality of water that we can give them.. "The position of the City of San Luis Obispo at Santa Margarita Lake is rather unique in. that-the County which operates the recreational area. collects storage and transmission charges on City owned water. The City, which as a property right in the water for domestic purposes, had to obtain a permit to use the water for domestic purposes from the State Department of.Health, yet the City has no direct means of protecting the quality of the water it furnishes. "On January 16, 1961 the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors adopted, as a guide, Title 17, Article 5, Sections 7623 through 7630 for the•operation of the Santa Margarita Lake. "According to the Board Order..of July 17, 1961 the Board unanimously voted in favor of the following motion: Overnight camping be allowed at Sait a Margarita Lake and that proper procedures be taken to implement a revised application for recreation on the lake, with the City-of San Luis Obispo to make proper application to the State Board of Health to allow overnight ' camping. "In 1961 the City hired the engineering firm of Brown and Caldwell to study the problem and make recommendations. Their report, dated October, 1961, states that the conditions of taste, odor and discoloration are caused either directly or indirectly by the presence of an excessive amount of algae in Santa Margarita Lake, and recommended treatment of the lake. They also concluded that only through trial treatments could the proper extant of necessary treatment be determined. The report and recommendations have have been forwarded,to the County and the Army but to date no treatment or plans for treatment have been reported to us. "The City has gone further and tried to establish their position in this matter with the State Health Department. We refer to a letter dated February 14, 1962 addressed to that body. A copy of this letter was forwarded to each of the Supervisors along with the copy of the answers from the State Department of Public Health dated February 21, 1962.:" Dr. George L. Harper, County Health Officer, read the following statement:- "Whereas the primary fesponsibility of the Health Officer and the Health ' Department is the prevention of disease, I wish at this time to goon record as being strongly opposed to recreational use of domestic water supplies. "I.am compelled to take this position by my evaluation of all circumstances involved, particularly in regards to the known inadequancy of standard water treatment methods in removing certain disease causing viruses. "In the specific case of Salinas Reservoir (Santa Margarita Lake), my recommendation to the Board of Supervisors and to the San Luis Obispo City Council is to discontinue all public use of the lake and its watershed and thereafter to provide controls preventing illegal entry to the area. This recommendation holds for any and all surface water resources which would be used for the domestic water supply of any community within this County, and holds until standard water treatment practices have advanced to the point that they can be certified by qualified authority to eliminate or deactivate at all times all agents causing human disease and transmissible human -to- human by water medium, and under all conditions of the water in any particular situation." , Dr. Harper pointed out that the County Health Officer is also the County - Health Officer for all municipalities within the County. After considerable study of the situation, he had come to the conclusion that the .Santa Margarita Lake should be closed to recreation. In order to justify the position of the Health Department, !Dr. Harper had data and material., most of which was of a technical nature. However, he read statements of various epidemics and other problems of the same type, caused by viruses in water. Supervisor Lee asked Dr. Harper if it was his duty to restrict recreation on the lake before contamination or after. Dr. Harper stated that it was his duty to make recommendations to -the Board of Supervisors and the City Council to safeguard the public. There were times last year when quarantine should have been issued because of the algae, bacteria and viruses. Supervisor Perkins asked if this was due to recreation. Dr. Harper replied that it was due to recreation and water treatment. He had reports that some of the very serious disease causing organisms were . not being removed by standard water treatment methods. These treatment methods are the same as are being used throughout the state. Supervisor Perkins asked if Dr. Harper had specific evidence that recreation was causing the water quality to be deteriorated. Dr. Harper said that he had documentary evidence that one truck load of fecal material was dumped practically in the water. It was not put in the water, however, and was disinfected. Regardless, he sated that it was his job to prevent disease, not to prevent disease after contamination. Hepatitus ' can be contracted from local water supplies. Supervisor Lee said that, in other words, Dr. Harper is saying that all lakes should be closed to recreation that are being used for human water consumption Dr. Harper agreed with this.statement. Supervisor Lee said until something is found in the lake, he could not see that Dr. Harper had the prerogative to say anything. Dr. Harper replied that, of necessity, the practice is justified. He stated that the public should be informed that he was not alone in his-,views on the subject and referred to a letter from Dr. Russell of Orange County regarding contamination of water supply. Supervisor Perkins presented a letter from San Luis Obispo City doctors, among them Dr. Buck, Dr. Werbel, Dr. Sherman, Dr. Smith, Dr. Longmire,•Dr. Zinnerman, etc., stating that the water supply was not a threat to public health and safety. Mr. 1W.-H. Abrendt wished to know if Dr. Harper had the authority to cancel leases of ranchers in the area to eliminate contamination by the cattle. Dr. Harper replied that he understood this was a right protected by the contract between the County and the-Army. In addition, none of the diseases , carried by animals could be transmitted through the filtration process. Mr. Abrendt further stated that when the lake was being formed, the trees were not cleared out and are still lying at the bottom of the lake. Supervisor Kimball wished to know why San Diego had not had problems with their water supply, as it has been used for recreation since 1912. Dr. Harper stated that he was not certain that San Diego was not having problems. Their water supply-has been undergoing extensive tests recently to determine any ill effects, if any. Possibly they are not aware of the evidence or they are willing to take the chance. Supervisor Lee asked Dr. Harper if he was aware of the feeling of legislators that the health department standards are too strict. Dr. Harper replied that his opinion was that standards are not strict enough in some cases. He further stated that it was his job to protect the public and to provide an environment that was as safe as possible. Dr. R..Pimentel was present and said that he was in accord with Dr. Harper 100%. The main diffculty is in informing the public of the dangers and finding out if something is wrong. The standard water tests of any health department determines bacteria count. They actually test for contamination by fecal matter. As Dr. Harper stated, present evidence indicates the porblem is not bacteriological, but one of viruses and there is no way to test for this. However, if there were viruses present in the lake, by the time a test indicated thier presence, the water consumers would already be dying from.an epidemic. It is a simple matter of contamination. The question is, are we going to go on with recreation and allow the possibility of contamination, however remote, because if we do get viruses we will have an epidemic. Mr. Pfaff, Jr, stated that he had attended a meeting at Santa Margarita Lake with the state health department officials,who had stated that there was no proof at this time of the presence of viruses in the lake. As a matter of fact, the only was.viruses has been found were as a result of factory chemicals only. Dr. Harper told about an epidemic in Scandanavia of hepatitus where drastic measures had to be taken. Tests showed no bacteria, but the epidemic was spreading. The chlorine level was increased to an emergency level and people were still dyaing. This was due to a virus. General discussion was held.with the audience4and members of the Board of Supervisors and City Council on the matters discussed up to this point. Mr. E. A. Reinke from the.State Department of Public Health was present and Made the following statement: I think it will be helpful if I would very briefly set forth what the responisbility of the State Department of Health is. In the matter of public water supply, I will try.to point out to you the position in which our Department finds itself at the present time. 'There have been some statements and indications of the questions here. I.have seen letters, written newspaper articles, etc., and was very pleased that you had the contract read so that we could get the facts before the public. In the field of public water supply, any water purveyor serving water to consumers for domestic purposes must not serve water that will be hazardous to health. Further, they shall obtain a permit from the State Board of Public Health before furnishing water to consumers. In this connection, the City of San Luis Obispo applied for a permit to furnish water and was granted a permit subject to certain provisions.' The reason, as I understand it, I am here today is that one of those provisions was that they would furnish water from a portion of the water supply from the Santa Margarita Lake and the operators of the lake at that particular time were making part of this application. At that time, the County Board of Supervisors, through the County Planning Commission, has submitted to our Department in accordance with the terms of the contract with the Corps of Engineers, a proposal for ' the development of the lake and their proposal as origninaily considered would not include overnight camping. Therefore, the question of overnight camping was not brought before the State Department of Public Health in granting the permit to the City of San Luis Obispo. However, I would like to change the subject for a minute and-discuss the question of recreational uses in reservoirs. This subject became a very hot issue a few years ago and the State Board of Public Health held numerous public-hearings on the subject of recreational uses on reservoirs. At these hearings, some of the public health-officials took the same viewpoint that Dr. Harper has stated here and urged the Board to prohibit the use of any reservoir for recreational purposes. There were -others who took the position that so long as there were controls and records carried out, recreation should be allowed. The State Board of Public Health adopted some regulations which have been referred to here as Title 17. These regulations covered recreational uses at reservoirs. On the basis of these regulations, the permit to the City of San Luis Obispo was granted. If you will go into the original plan proposed by your Planning Department to the State Department of Public Health and the State Board of Public Health, the statement was made that the public health supervision at Santa Margarita Lake would be under the County-Health Department with periodic checks by the State Department of Public Health. I think you gentlemen are all familiar with the matter of budgeting and the State Department of Public Health has a very limited budget and I am sure your County also has a limited budget. The fact of the matter is that there have been developments at Santa Margarita Lake which were not approved in advance by the County Health Department, nor by the State Health Department. On the question by the Board of right to expand the practices o that the permit to the City did did not contemplate the present could or could not be done, the prior approval. Supervisors as to w E overnight camping, not contemplate the use. The issue was issue was if it was hether it would be all our Department advised expansion and further, not whether camping being done without Some discussion has-been held about other reservoirs with recreational uses and you should face the fact that no place is this being done with properly audited records where they are breaking even. The local agency has to sub- sidize 60% to 70% of the cost at each facility. If recreation is going to be done under rigid controls, as a necessity the County and City, or whoever haldles it, will have to subsidize their operation. The real problem is one of epidemics: If a health officer takes the position of being for recreation, he is called on the carpet for allowing epidemics to break out and if he takes Dr. Harper's position, he is in trouble for issuing a warning. The entire history of public health indicates that wherever viruses are present, we will have outbreaks of disease. Our Board has taken the position that with proper control, recreation can be used. When the permit was issued to the City of San Diego it was with the distinct requirement by the County Health Department that risidual chlorine be carried throughout the entire system. They have had bad experiences in San Diego and everywhere where rigid controls are not carried out. In your instance, the State Health Department should have a check, the County Health Department should have one and the Health Officer should have a check. I have read in the newspaper that you hope to reach a decision today and to learn from the State Health Department what this decision should be. The decision must be made by the County and City. The City must furnish water that is pure, wholesome and potable and it is their responsibility to arrange with the County to insure that is done in accordance with the law and the contracts you have. Supervisor Lee asked if the Health Department has the final decision. Mr. Reinke said it is the responsibility of the State Board of Public Health to determine that under all circumstances, the water delivered to consumers will be pure, wholesome and potable. The Bureau has the responsibility of examining the proposals and making recommendations to the State Board of Public Health as to whether or not an approval should be granted and under what circumstances. He said they do not take the final action. Camping is only one feature. Many other factors enter into the picture and the things that Dr. Harper mentioned should also be considered. The greater the number of people on watersheds and lakes, the harder it is to control and the more change there will be of some degradation. Supervisor Perkins stated that on January 16, 1961 the Board of Supervisors adopted Title 17. Subsequently, the County and City had a joint meeting on recreation and were in general accord. The only thing to be decided today is the permit for overnight camping, whether the City or County could ask for the permit. We agreed at that time that the City could ask for the permit. To date this permit is the only bone of contention. If the City does not ask for the permit and the County does ask for it, would the Board issue or deny'such a request? Mr. Reinke stated that in this connection they should present a revised plan for the operations of the recreation on the reservoir. This is not the place to bring it up as many things have happened over the years and you should submit your entire proposal including a description of all recreational activities and not simply overnight camping. Supervisor Drake asked Mr. Reinke to elaborate on matters that "have happened" over the years. Mr. Reinke said the most flagrant violation was the dropping of the contents of the chemical toilets in the area. The basic responsibility is with the operator. The basic public health responsibility is with the County Health Department; the State Health Department only comes in for periodic checks but in no sense does the State attempt to do routine checking. However, we are very vitally interested in the quality of water furnished to consumers and other problems are very important. The water was so low last year that algae blooms caused taste and ordor that came through the filtration plants. I don't believe that Dr. Harper mentioned it here, but you have a lot of algae and a lot of solids, and the chances of algae being carried through is much greater so that the more that can be done to keep the water clear, the better. Also, fishing would be better. Supervisor Drake said that recreational use and algae are not directly related. Mr. Gannon makes periodic checks and does not keep a list of violations. Mr. Reinke stated that they probably have not been following through as diligently as they should. He also said that they have asked for a more frequent check to determine violations. Supervisor Drake said that reports from the County Health Department do not show there is anything serious. Mr. Reinke said that he-had heard rumors to the effect that swimmers have not been arrested and other violators have gone unapprehended. The regulations 1 say that recreation can be carried on to the extent that it does not interfere with public health and safety. Mr. John Houston stated that the Corps of Engineers find themselves in a very difficult position in this matter. They have obligations to the Army to maintain the reservoir and furnish potable water in the event of an emergency. They have a contract with the City of San Luis Obispo. They also have an agreement with the Board of Supervisors for a recreational area. Mr. Houston further stated that it is the policy of the Corps of Engineers to make reservoirs available for recreation and they feel this area can be operated as a recreational area and still furnish good water to San Luis Obispo. He said that with the proper supervision, regulations and inspection by the State periodically, he flet this facility could be operated to the ' satisfaction of all concerned. Supervisor Kimball said that under the terms of the contract, we have to operate :under the jurisdiction and approval of the Department of Public Health of the.State of California and wanted to know if this still was true. Mr. Houston said that was correct. The Board of Supervisors must have the approval of the State Department of Public Health for new facilities at Santa Margarita Lake. Councilman Graves asked if construction of the swimming pool had-been approved. Mr. Houston replied that the pool had been built and was in operation before the Corps of Engineers found out about it. Mr. Conrad had stated that it had been overlooked in the approval of the plans-but that they would be very careful about this in the future. Supervisor Kimball apologized for not complying with all regulations and said he felt the swimming pool was a step in the right direction, as it offered the people a place to swim and thus kept them out of the lake. A statement had been made that an application had not been asked for and Mr. Kimball said that a letter had been written on September 20, 1961 outlining the intentions of the Board of Supervisors and asking that the application be started. Mr. Kimball then read the letter. ' Mayor Davidson then read the City's proposal, as follows: "Since the County has indicated that a definite decision must be stated by the Council, and in view of the adverse bacteria tests and the odor, color ' and taste problems resulting from the deterioranted Santa Margarita water supply and the fact that no solution to these problems has been tried or even planned, the City Council will not approve of any additional recreation use and will protest any other agency extending the recreation facilities until: The operator of the facility, San Luis Obispo County, makes application for a permit with the State Department of Health, as a water purveyor. A.' This application to fulfill all the requirements of Title 17, Public Health Code, particularly items 7626 and 7627. B. Further, that the operator, San Luis Obispo County, agrees to institute a regular treatment against algae as suggested under the Standards of Minimum Requirements for safe practice in the production and delivery of water for domestic use as approved by the California section of the American Water Works Association on the 29th day of October, 1948. Calling attention to paragraph 5.312 entitled "Reservoirs," for impounding surface runoff, long term carry -over storage, and those formed by a stream or river, control dams should have provision for protection against un- controlled recreational use, merginal vegetation, algae growths and animal pollution. "It is further suggested that this proposed permit be granted on the sup- position that overnight camping would not be allowed for a minimum of two (2) years for a trial period to determine that satisfactory water quality can be maintained under the progress." Mr. Robert Williams was present and stated he was extremely upset because he felt the City had made a prepared decision in advance and that the meeting was a sham. Part of our problem is a Master Plan for Santa Margarita. Lake, which was submitted to the State Health Department for approval, who referred it to the City of San Luis Obispo for comment and recommendations, and the City has taken no specific action on this. The Board of Supervisors has made an honest attempt, he stated, to try to solve this problem. If the proposal• concurs with Title 17, they should issue the permit. Supervisor Kimball said the Department of Public Works for the County asked the State Department to issue a permit on September 20, 1961. In the letter the County set forth their intentions. Mayor Davidson qualified the City's position by stating the City has been studying this problem for the past 8 months. The City has information from the various sources as indicated. We have studied all facets of this problem and when we drafted this proposal this morning, it was at an open meeting of the City Council, open to the public. Mr. Irvin Kogan stated that he was quite concerned to learn that the County had not complied with regulations on two occasions, as in the case of the swimming pool. It is further apparently quite obvious that the City Council had their minds made up and the Board of Supervisors had also without taking a vote. He felt that the problem could be simplified by saying that-we have 22,000 people in the City drinking water, which is approximately 7,000,000 drinking water days per year. For the same period, recreational use at Santa Margarita will have 450 persons per week during the peak periods and only 33 persons per week during the off season. This is 12,000 recreational user days versus 7,000,000 water drinking days. There is some question as to which side.is the minority. Recreational users at Nacimiento Lake are broken down as follows: 10% from Monterey County, the operators; 16% from San Luis Obispo County; 40% from Los Angeles County; 20% from the Valley; and 26% from northern counties. Mr. Mc Keen was present and said the basic problem is that the City has a permit for a certain volume of water being stored in a reservoir under the jurisdiction of the County. The lease should be reworked because there should not be two separate politidal subdivisions involved. Col. Colby a retired water officer and post engineer for the Army during the years 1945 -46 stated in every area of the county where he has been connected with water supplies, recreation is always as limited as possible on lakes where water is used for human consumption. In the east, the problem came down to the situation of strict enough controls and this caused the additional problems of paying the cost of financing these controls. Mr. Morgan Flagg asked if the Board of Supervisors were prepared to pay whatever the cost would be to give us protection. Supervisor Kimball said that speaking for himself personally, he couldn't answer that question until the cost became know. Then, in regard to the budget, he would be in favor of anything reasonable. Supervisor Perkins said that when overnight camping was allowed at Santa Margarita Lake, it was operated in the black, He said we could probably lower the tax rate if it were re- established as it would cost the taxpayers less to maintain. General discussion followed regarding the filtration plant. Mr. Elmer Worthy, from Los Angeles County, stated that he was one of the persons ' that came up to the lake from out of the County for the recreation facilities. He was willing to pay his way and besides, when he came to the City he spent money for food and so forth. He urged that recreation be provided and stated that he willing to pay his share.