Take a dive into swimming pool safety

Fire Chief Sam DiGovanna

Special to the Valley News

Summer is upon us, and temperatures are heating up this week. Many people are spending their time in pools to beat the heat. Unfortunately, there is the dangerous side to summer and swimming pools.

Drowning incidents are dramatically on the rise locally a nd statewide. Parents whose children have drowned say the day of the tragedy started out just like any other day. No matter how the drowning happened or where it happened – pool, spa or any other body of water – one thing was the same, the seconds that claimed their child’s life slid by silently, without warning, it happens just like that and can never be brought back.

Drowning is preventable.

Children drown without a sound. Drowning is a quiet event. There is no splashing, no screaming and no noise at all. What can you do to prevent drowning incidents?

Follow the ABC’s of water safety.

A is adult supervision. Assign an adult as “Water Watcher” to keep their eyes on the water at all times. Never swim alone or leave the children in a pool at any time unattended.

B is barriers such as fences, selfclosing and self-latching gates, pool motion sensors, window and door alarms.

C is classes. Parents and caregivers should take CPR and first aid training, and swimming courses that are available for both children and adults.

No drinking and put away that cell phone. Keep your attention at all times on the children.

Visit http://www.poolsafely.gov for more drowning prevention and safety tips.

When adults are paddle boarding, ocean swimming or surfing, make sure you tell someone when you are leaving, when you are returning and your destination.

Contact your local fire department. for more pool safety tips.

Sam DiGiovanna is a 35-year fire service veteran. He started with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, served as fire chief at the Monrovia Fire Department and currently serves as chief at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale.

EMWD awards environmental services contract for Calle Medusa sewer repair

Joe Naiman

Writer

The Eastern Municipal Water District board approved an environmental services contract for the Calle Medusa sewer and access road emergency repair project.

The board voted 4-0 Wednesday, June 7, with Randy Record absent, to award a $125,000 contract to Helix Environmental Planning Inc. Total appropriations of $202,963, which will fund the project through the bid and award phase, were authorized, and EMWD general

Joe Naiman

Writer

Lee + Ro Inc. has been awarded the Rancho California Water District contract to design turbine generators at two RCWD facilities.

The RCWD board voted 7-0 June 8 to award Lee + Ro, whose office is in the City of Industry, a $349,920 contract to design in-line turbine generators at the Upper Valle de Los Caballos recharge and recovery facility and on Washington Avenue adjacent to the Elm Street Pump Station and the Santa Rosa Water Reclamation Facility. The turbines will generate hydroelectric power by using flow and water pressure from existing imported and recycled water deliveries.

The Upper Valle de Los Caballos recharge and recovery facility is located in the 42100 block of Winchester Road in Temecula. The facility has two main sources of recharge water: untreated imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California which is delivered through the Eastern Municipal Water District at Rancho Water’s EM-21 turnout facility and surface water released from Vail Lake which is subject to availability. The UVDC facility has five large percolation ponds which supply the underlying groundwater basin from the water sources and extract the groundwater from onsite and down-gradient wells. The in-line turbine will connect to an existing 48-inch diameter pipeline which delivers the untreated water to the UVDC percolation ponds. Energy generated from the in-line manager Joe Mouawad or his designee was authorized to execute necessary design contracts or other agreements. The Calle Medusa sewer provides service to approximately 700 residences in the Solana Vista, Tierra Brisa and Saddlewood homeowners association neighborhoods in the City of Temecula.

The sewer alignment originates at Calle Medusa within the homeowners association neighborhoods and crosses undeveloped land adjacent to an unnamed creek before discharging into a sewer within Nicolas Road. The gravity sewer 10 inches in diameter was installed in 1991.

Recent storms caused erosion and migration of the creek, which impacted the sewer access road and also created the risk of exposing the sewer and creating potential damage. EMWD staff requested an emergency repair project to expedite replacement of the soil and to install riprap which would protect the existing sewer and restore the maintenance access road. The repair work will require coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for the necessary permits to support the emergency repair activities. EMWD staff asked Helix Environmental Planning, which is headquartered in La Mesa, for a scope of work and cost estimate to prepare environmental reports and applications and to assist the district with agency consultation. A fee of $125,963 was negotiated. Helix Environmental Planning had previously been competitively selected for as-needed environmental services, and the company has previously performed environmental services for EMWD emergency repair projects.

A request for proposals for the actual work will be sent to Eastern’s pre-qualified on-call contractors. EMWD staff will return to the board to request approval of that construction contract after obtaining the environmental permits. Joe Naiman can be reached by email at jnaiman@reedermedia. com.

RCWD approves new Rancho Glenoaks

turbine will be used to supply a portion of the energy demands for the wells and future pump station. The annual power savings are estimated at $232,000.

The Santa Rosa Water Reclamation Facility in the 26200 block of Washington Ave. in Murrieta is managed through a joint powers agency which includes the Rancho California Water District, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and the Western Municipal Water District. The facility treats wastewater sludge to make it less toxic. Recycled water is delivered from the facility into an existing pond which supplies water to the Elm Street Pump Station for distribution to recycled water customers. A 12-inch diameter pressure reducing valve from the EMWD connection connects to the existing 16-inch diameter pipeline which feeds the pond. The planned in-line turbine inlet will connect to either the 12-inch diameter piping near the pressure reducing valve or somewhere downstream on the 16-inch diameter pipeline. The annual power savings are estimated at $50,000.

RCWD staff developed a work scope for the preparation of a preliminary design report and final construction drawings for both proposed in-line hydroelectric facilities. A request for proposals was issued April 5. The scope of work includes preparing a preliminary design report to confirm the project ’s feasibility and design considerations for each site including hydraulic and power calculations and recommendations for proposed turbine types and vendors. It also includes a cost/benefit analysis utilizing existing and anticipated Southern California Edison power rates, the anticipated return on investment, annual power production, utility research and verification (potholing) at points of connection and at all utility crossings, preparation of construction contract documents including plans and specifications for each site, preparation of an engineer’s estimate for the construction cost for each site, bid phase support services and engineering support during construction.

Three consulting firms responded by the May 4 deadline. The California Government Code requires professional services agreements to be awarded based on demonstrated competence and the professional qualifications necessary for t he satisfactory performance of the services required rather solely on the lowest price. Lee + Ro had the middle price proposal but was deemed to be the highest qualified firm. The Lee + Ro proposal demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the project, a detailed project approach and due diligence with potential in-line hydroelectric equipment vendors.

The proposal performed preliminary energy calculations which estimated avoided energy costs and net revenue generally consistent with RCWD estimates. The in-house project team in the Lee + Ro proposal includes two electrical engineers with a combined 45 years of experience.

The design of the two turbine generators is scheduled to be completed in March 2024.