Water agencies: Air quality rules need changing to keep water flowing to fight wildfires

16 May 2019

USA – California agencies have appealed to air pollution control officials to change the rules after backup generators failed and water stopped pumping as wildfires burned last year.

They said they need more time to test and maintain diesel-operated generators that power water facilities during a fire.

Because of air pollution concerns, the agencies are limited to testing the diesel-powered generators as little as 20 hours per year in some cases.

But as a new fire season nears, the rules remain in place.

David Pedersen, general manager of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, said conversations are ongoing with air quality agencies though no resolution has been reached.

In November 2018, the Calabasas-based water district had emergency generators fail during the Woolsey Fire. Despite regular testing, Pedersen said, district staff had to find ways to traverse the burn area multiple times to make repairs.

He thinks better testing and maintenance could help, but both take time.

“During a wildfire, every piece of machinery equipment we own is put under tremendous stress and strain,” Pedersen said. “We need to be testing it and maintaining it at a higher level.”

In March, Pedersen sent a letter signed by a coalition of Southern California water districts to the South Coast Air Quality Management District seeking a change in the rules.

Then last month, he sent a second letter – this time, to the California Air Resources Board. It was signed by more than 30 agencies throughout the state.

Upgrading generator fleet would help

A spokeswoman from the California Air Resources Board said agency staff met with the California Municipal Utilities Association, which was representing Las Virgenes and other districts. Those conversations are ongoing.

Staff wanted to better understand the districts’ request for flexibility in the number of hours available for emergency backup engine testing and maintenance, spokeswoman Melanie Turner responded in an email to The Star.

The regulations allow unlimited engine operation during an emergency event, she said.

But for higher-polluting emergency backup generators, it allows fewer annual hours for maintenance and testing. That’s done to limit exposure to toxins created by the diesel engines.

More: Hot, dry summer weather could bring yet another destructive wildfire season to California

Districts could have more time for maintenance and testing if they upgraded to cleaner, lower-polluting backup generators, Turner said.

Last year, the Las Virgenes district bought two new generators to add to its fleet of 14.

But upgrading all of its generators isn’t a practical solution, officials said. Each one cost Las Virgenes roughly $100,000 and took months to receive.

Pedersen said Las Virgenes evaluated its own backup power after seeing the toll in Ventura during the Thomas Fire in late 2017.

The city of Ventura also experienced problems with emergency generators during the Thomas Fire. Water pressure crashed as the fire burned into the city, where hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Ventura officials, however, have declined to provide details about what happened that night, so it’s unclear if more time for maintenance or testing would have helped.

A limited exception

Water agencies say they only are asking for the rules to change for specific generators that power water systems used for fire protection.

Problems don’t necessarily show up during a short test, they said, but the equipment can fail when placed under load for an extended period of time.

As officials talked to regional and state boards, the Las Virgenes district also OK’d a $23,000 annual contract with an Oxnard firm that specializes in maintaining such equipment, a move Pedersen said would increase efficiency.

The district provides water to Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills, Calabasas and parts of unincorporated Los Angeles County – fire-prone areas where wildland bumps up against homes.

Pedersen said he understands that authorities have to balance the need to prepare for emergencies and to protect air quality.

Water districts are not proposing to trade one for the other, he said. “I do think there’s a way that we could accomplish both.”

Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.

16. May 2019/by GFMCadmin