No resolution in T.J. Maxx water supply dilemma
By Kathryn Reed
Before Lukins Brothers Water Company pitches an idea about how to supply the T.J. Maxx building with adequate water to fight a fire, the company is asking the California Public Utility Commission whether all ratepayers can absorb the cost of an interconnection to South Tahoe Public Utility District.
“I think if I were in the shoes of customers of Lukins, I would wonder why that is appropriate,” STPUD board Chairman Eric Schafer said at Thursday’s meeting.
South Tahoe PUD staff gave the board an update April 4 on the situation that was supposed to be resolved the first of the month. It could be a couple more weeks before the board is presented with a possible solution.
A temporary agreement is in place between the water districts that allowed the clothing store to open last fall. (This story has more background on the quagmire.)
“My interest is merely that there be adequate water pressure. How they get there I don’t have an opinion,” South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Bruce Martin told Lake Tahoe News. (He is also the fire marshal for the city. No longer is Lake Valley Fire responsible for those duties.)
Schafer also said he hopes one proposal is brought forward and not separate ones from Lukins and the Garfinkles. The Garfinkles own the building at the Y.
Hydraulic models need to be created to determine if South Tahoe Public Utility District could sustain water pressure if there were a major fire at the center that sent water into the entire Lukins’ system via the intertie.
No one from Lukins, T.J. Maxx or representing the landlord attended Thursday’s meeting. No one from the city was at the meeting either, and this, two days after Councilwoman Brooke Laine said how she would be regularly attending these meetings.
You mean that everyone didn’t come together and act like adults and do the right thing? Unbelievable.
Are people using Lukins Water Co required to be metered?
It is my understand that small water companies, such as Tahoe Keys, are not required to meter customers despite what is probably a disproportionate amount of water taken out of our common ground supply. Is that accurate?
I believe that small water companies will be required to install meters sometime around 2025. STPUD started doing so after receiving “grant money”. I doubt the smaller companies have the resources to get grants so the individual users will have to absorb the costs. Doesn’t seem fair.
I have been in Lukins district since 1983 and service has not improved over the years! Some days, I have adequate pressure, other days, my sprinklers just dribble.. often, it takes 20 minutes for the upstairs toilet to fill! my rates keep increasuring and I DO NOT WANT TO PAY FOR TJ MAXX TO GET MORE PRESSURE!!
It’s my understanding that Tahoe Keys residents water won’t be metered. Their water company is owned by the residents of that area and they are just under the threshold number of people so they are not required to have meters installed like everyone else in town. Correct me if I’m wrong but that’s what I read. Ever drive thru the Keys and see all those empty homes being watered via timers? That water runs down the streets, into the drains and straight to the lake. I’m sure there are chemicals and fertilizers in that run off. Bad for the lake…
The owners of that building where TJ Maxx is, the Garfinkles, should pay for the entire cost for the connection into the STPUD water system (it is THEIR property after all!) or Lukins should pay for the expense of increasing their water pressure from out of pocket. That cost should NOT be passed on to Lukins residential customers to help TJ Maxx with fire suppression. If you own a property, it should meet all codes and regulations before you rent it out. It’s up to the owners of said property to keep up with repairs and general maintenance.
I had a problem with low water pressure in my old house. After some shovel work , X Ray Olsens backhoe and with some help from STPUD I found that the neighbor’s house had hooked into my water line many years ago, long before I owned the place. I paid for a new line and shut off valve. It’s all good now. Not cheap but that’s what had to be done.
I hope this water issue with the old Coronet(?) or was it Sprouse Reitz(?) building will be resolved and we can move forward. OLS
The Keys are exempted from meters by law, but the building can be occupied without fire suppression regardless of fire code? How does that make sense? The houses in the Keys are the biggest wasters of water in the basin, right before LTUSD and the City. Sprinklers run whether it is snowing, raining or freezing. Yet another exception. We now have an town based entirely on exceptions.
OLS, as always, you did the right thing. God Bless X-Ray.
Ratepayers should not bear the burden of this fiasco but one way or the other, we always do.
OLS, just curious, where would Lukins get the money if they didn’t get it from ratepayers? Rob a bank? Also, why does it make sense to link residential meters with putting in an intertie for commercial fire flow?
Ugh. Who in their right mind would want to bring a business into SLT! Big 5, you must have deep pockets, or no sense. The over/under regulation by the “old boys network” continues…ie; government fraud, waste and abuse at its best. Same situation, same complaint, different day. I have not seen advancements in 20 years. Someone please enlighten me.
John, we have regulations that restrict commercial operations without appropriate fire suppression, but those seem to have been overlooked or ignored. We also have regulations that exclude the Tahoe Keys’ water system from meters because they have under a certain number of users. We have regulations that restrict waste of water, (“…water runs down the street…”), but those also seem to be ignored.
The point is that regulations are not consistently applied, I think. And we all pay more with inconsistency. That is what I read into it.
And, whether it is ratepayers or taxpayers, we citizens always pay, but individuals (especially the well-connected) seem to walk away counting their money, IMHO.
How do you see this being resolved? Who do you think should pay for this problem? The owner of the business with insufficient water pressure (Lukins Water Company), the regulatory agency that gave TJ Maxx the occupancy permit (taxpayers via the City) or the owner of the property (Garfinkle)?
And, as Mark Twain said, “whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting over”.
I believe there was an issue in years past with the city of south lake tahoe and the public utilities commision. The end result was something to the nature of Lukins was a potable water company regulated by the PUC and had no obligation for fire flows. This seemed to tie Lukins hands regarding system upgrades. The city wants Fire flows at X rate and the PUC does not see the benefit to the cost for the customers. I am looking for the resolution from the PUC if i find it i will link it. I know Lukins has been working on the upgraded pipeline but it all comes back to this fire issue.