Agenda Item 6.10, File #26-0609: LACOSAN Infrastructure Status Quarterly Reporting
I support the request for regular quarterly reporting on LACOSAN infrastructure status. Given the age of these systems, the documented wet-season inflow and infiltration issues, recent large spills, and the increasing stress from intensified precipitation, this reporting is an important step toward public accountability and better resource prioritization.
I respectfully ask that the quarterly reports include not only operational metrics such as pipe inspection footage, valve and lift station inspections, maintenance activities, spill volume, spill cause, and corrective actions, but also a geotechnical/engineering geology component where relevant.
Specifically, has LACOSAN or Lake County requested or considered available geotechnical technical assistance from Cal OES, USACE, or another qualified engineering geology/geotechnical resource? If such assistance has already been requested, please include its status, scope, findings, and recommendations in future reports. If it has not been requested, please identify what threshold would trigger such a request.
Aging buried wastewater infrastructure can fail for multiple interacting reasons: hydraulic overload, mechanical failure, structural deterioration, soil saturation, settlement, erosion, slope instability, groundwater movement, or other subsurface conditions. A quarterly report that separates these layers would help the Board and the public distinguish symptoms from root causes.
Thank you for strengthening transparency around wastewater infrastructure. Making these systems visible before failure occurs is far better than learning about them only through spills, lawsuits, emergency repairs, and public harm.
Agenda Item 6.10, File #26-0609: LACOSAN Infrastructure Status Quarterly Reporting
I support the request for regular quarterly reporting on LACOSAN infrastructure status. Given the age of these systems, the documented wet-season inflow and infiltration issues, recent large spills, and the increasing stress from intensified precipitation, this reporting is an important step toward public accountability and better resource prioritization.
I respectfully ask that the quarterly reports include not only operational metrics such as pipe inspection footage, valve and lift station inspections, maintenance activities, spill volume, spill cause, and corrective actions, but also a geotechnical/engineering geology component where relevant.
Specifically, has LACOSAN or Lake County requested or considered available geotechnical technical assistance from Cal OES, USACE, or another qualified engineering geology/geotechnical resource? If such assistance has already been requested, please include its status, scope, findings, and recommendations in future reports. If it has not been requested, please identify what threshold would trigger such a request.
Aging buried wastewater infrastructure can fail for multiple interacting reasons: hydraulic overload, mechanical failure, structural deterioration, soil saturation, settlement, erosion, slope instability, groundwater movement, or other subsurface conditions. A quarterly report that separates these layers would help the Board and the public distinguish symptoms from root causes.
Thank you for strengthening transparency around wastewater infrastructure. Making these systems visible before failure occurs is far better than learning about them only through spills, lawsuits, emergency repairs, and public harm.
Respectfully,
Corey Shaffer