Page 8 December 4, 2014 TORRANCE TRIBUNE TerriAnn in Torrance Traveling Torrance Water By TerriAnn Ferren Photos by TerriAnn Ferren Last month I took the Inspection Trip of the Colorado River Aqueduct to actually see how our water travels to Southern California. You might remember a few months ago, I ventured up to the Northern California Delta to learn about our northern water supply (see Torrance Tribune June 26, 2014), so I jumped at the chance to see how we receive water from the Colorado River. The trip was sponsored again by the brilliant and knowledgeable water Board Director, Dr. Russell Lefevre, Ph.D., who represents the City of Torrance at the Metropolitan Water District. It was a perfect Friday and the sun was shining brightly as a cheerful Amy Rego, the Inspection Trip Team Manager, was busy passing out itineraries, badges, and answering questions as the group gathered behind the Torrance Police Station. Amy would be our tour guide extraordinaire for the three-day adventure. I remembered Amy Rego from the Sacramento tour and knew we were in the most professional hands for the three day trip. Promptly at 7:30 a.m., after loading luggage and boarding the large pristine bus, we headed toward Metropolitan’s Robert A. Skinner Water Treatment Plant located in Winchester, where we would make a stop before traveling on to Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. As we rode along in the bus, Amy gave a thumbnail overview of the history of the water of Los Angeles. I remember her explaining to the ‘Delta group’ the history of how, when, and why Los Angeles began looking for additional sources of water. Listening to the history again solidified for me how very forward thinking and innovative our forefathers of Los Angeles were. Most of the information I remembered from my Delta trip, but this time it resonated with me even more because I, along with the group, was about to trace the trail of water from the Colorado River to Southern California. I was excited! Newsflash, we are in our third critical dry year in California. We are in a drought. That is a challenge for MWD, because they are the largest supplier of water in the world. We finally arrived at the first of five MWD water treatment plants and the third largest treatment plant in the United States, the Robert A. Skinner Water Treatment Plant, where Plant Manager Dave Foust greeted us and showed us the brains of the filtration and distribution system of the ‘blend’ plant (a blend of water from the Colorado River and State Project Water – when available). We then toured the impressive 5-year-old, $10 million, 1 megawatt solar farm. 40 percent of the plant is run by solar and the savings is impressive. Foust told us that the electric bill for the plant went from $100,000 a month to around $83,000 after the addition of the 4,642 solar panels. Amazing! After the visit to the solar farm, Foust showed us the 4-year-old Ozone treatment plant on-site where water is purified. What an amazing place. Through chemistry, water is purified, disinfected, and filtered to attain the perfect pH. Ozone (a great disinfectant) creates bubbles that float up as the water is purified, making me think the ‘champagne room’ would be a better name for the building where all this occurs. Back at the main building, we were treated to lunch and a presentation by Joe Vanderhorst, Assistant General Counsel on Colorado River issues. A tremendous resource, we listened to the history, politics, issues, and laws of the Colorado River: who gets how much water, etc. The Colorado River runs through 7 states and Vanderhorst knows more about water rights, conservation, and the laws pertaining to the Colorado River water than anyone I ever heard. His presentation was superb and I left with ‘tired brains.’ I like how Amy Rego describes it, “It’s like Christmas, everybody gets something, but you’re not going to get the pony.” The politics of water are mind boggling to be sure. We then moved toward - Diamond Valley Lake (DVL) in Hemet, which holds a 6-months emergency storage of water. Water, water everywhere! The history of our water in a nutshell is a fascinating story. By 1913, Los Angeles was relying mostly on the water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct and in the 1920s four things began to put pressure on the water of Front of Copper Basin Dam: 200 feet long and 210 feet high. Los Angeles: population was growing to one million; in 1923, there was a drought; the city was becoming an industrial center; and there was a disagreement with the Owens Valley farmers. In 1923, through the inspiration of Water Superintendent William Mulholland, the idea of transporting water from the high Sierras by way of the Colorado River into the city of Los Angeles via an aqueduct was born. In 1923, Mulholland went to the Colorado River to check out the possibilities of bringing more water into Los Angeles. In 1925, a bill was introduced to the state senate, which passed, forming the Metropolitan Water District. A week later, the state assembly rejected the idea. Then a two million dollar bond was passed by the Los Angeles voters to finance surveying for the Colorado Aqueduct. They knew we needed water. Smart citizens. The two million dollars also funded the Big Map, which we will see on this trip. The map is on loan to the George S. Patton Museum, located off the Chiriaco Summit. This map was used as a visual aid to help sell the route of the Colorado Aqueduct to Congress. (The act was called the Boulder Canyon Act, which we know as the Hoover Dam). In 1927, the Act passed and, The Metropolitan Water District (MWD) was finally formed in 1928 with 15 original cities. In 1931, two cities dropped out, which left 13 original cities. What makes me proud is Torrance was one of the original cities. Sounds like Torrance, doesn’t it? In 1931, John Bullock, founder of Bullock’s Department Store, sold $221 million dollars worth of water bonds and instituted the ‘milk campaign,’ where a flyer was placed alongside milk bottles that encouraged people to vote for the bonds. The bond passed 5 – 1. Quite the marketer. The aqueduct was approved and in 1941 and the first water was delivered via the aqueduct to Pasadena. Now, the MWD has 26 member agencies consisting of 14 cities, 11 municipal water districts, and one county water authority. Wow! This water wholesaler delivers water from Ventura to the Mexican border which is an amazingly large area. So, we get our water from two sources, the Colorado River Aqueduct and the State Water Project. With all these water facts still swirling in my head, we approached our destination. Wild Burros greeted us as we arrived at Gene Village, MWD Private Desert Field Headquarters as night fell on our first day. We all were fairly weary from the long trip on the bus. After settling into our assigned rooms, we had a hearty, home-cooked meal by the expert chefs at the Gene Village Dining Hall, and then called it a day. Saturday began early as we settled on the bus right after breakfast, and headed to Copper Basin Reservoir for a boat ride and tour. The special ride (no one is allowed on the water) on the Copper Basin Reservoir was the most peaceful boat ride I ever had. No human contact is allowed in the water so the only sound was our boat’s motor. The water was restful, pure, clean, cool, and majestic. We tied up alongside Copper Dam and learned how it was built between the two mountains. The power of the horseshoe concrete dam took my breath away. What an experience! Our next stop on this magnificently sunny day was the architecturally beautiful William P. Whitsett (intake) Pumping Plant, (located on Lake Havasu), built in the 30s and designed by architect Daniel Elliott. 45 miles long, 1 to 1.5 miles wide, but only 60 feet deep, Lake Havasu was built as a forebay for the Whitsett pumping plant. This magnificent pumping plant pushes water from the lake up 291 feet to the Gene Wash Reservoir. The tour through this huge plant located on the shores of the lake and then watching the huge pumps work was a sight I will never forget. What effort is made to supply our need for water! We left Whitsett and drove by Parker Dam, which is 230 feet deep - the deepest dam in the world, complete with its own built-in spillway. We then headed back to Gene Village for a delicious lunch and a presentation by Demetri Polyzos, Senior Engineer for MWD. Demetri helped us understand ‘water years’ October through September, and reiterated the history of how Southern California’s water needs changed through the years. He also explained about our 2 main water sources; State Water Project and the Colorado River Aqueduct, and reviewed the 9 state water split of the Colorado River. After that informative talk, Chuck Schaich, Dr. Russell Lefevre, Emmanuel Martin, and Alan Berndt presented an incredible overview of the Torrance Municipal Water system – basically where we get our water. I remembered Torrance was an original member of the MWD, joining in 1931, but found out in 1933, the city bought a private water company and established Torrance Municipal Water (TMW) which serves approximately 78 percent of the city. The 4 Musketeers (Schaich, Lefevre, Berndt, and Martin) - experts from the City of Torrance, gave a thorough overview of the water Torrance receives. Torrance has a stellar water system (see Torrance Tribune, April 11, 2011). The main thrust of the lecture was to explain reliability, resources, and rates for the City of Torrance. Later that evening I spoke with Austin Berndt, age 20, who was on the tour, and he told me, “My dad is the Water Operations Manager for Torrance – he has always talked about what he does but I never got to see it in person, so this is the perfect opportunity to see behind the scenes. I’ve learned a lot so far.” Sunday morning we said goodbye to Gene Village as our bus headed home. We drove parallel along the aqueduct. What was amazing was the water was virtually camouflaged by the natural vegetation of the desert. We made a stop at the General Patton Memorial Museum to see The Big Map. I have to tip my hat to the team who built this visual aid and help sell the idea of moving water all the way from the Colorado River to – ultimately, our Torrance tap. Our water is like gold, precious. Conserve and find out more at www.mwdh2o.com. • Dave Foust, Plant Manager of the Robert A. Skinner Water Treatment Plant by the Solar Farm. California Aqueduct in the desert.
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