Water Districts Increasing Security

Ventura County’s three largest water districts are stepping up security at reservoirs, dams, pump stations and treatment plants.

One district is welding shut hatches and installing new vent systems on water tanks to guard against someone attempting to contaminate the supply.

Another is considering whether to spend up to $20,000 on new security equipment.

And all are beefing up patrols around their dams near Ojai, Simi Valley and Fillmore.

The unprecedented measures are consistent with steps being taken since the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon to protect power plants, aqueducts and dams across the nation.

“We are all in a heightened sense of security,” said Donald Kendall, general manager of the Calleguas Municipal Water District. “We’ve taken it to another level. And we are going to keep it that way.”

Calleguas serves 550,000 residents in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Moorpark, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Oak Park and the military bases at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme.

Last week, representatives of those communities and the bases met with Kendall to discuss the risks and protections in place to guard against a terrorist attack.

“There is no such thing as zero-risk,” he said. “All we can do is minimize the risk the best way we know how.”

Calleguas gets its water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 16 million people in six counties. Like the MWD, which is severely restricting access to its facilities and patrolling major pipelines, Calleguas is taking similar measures.

District workers, along with armed security guards, are closely monitoring facilities and 130 miles of pipelines running through Ventura County. Patrols are being increased at Bard Reservoir near Simi Valley, and delivery vehicles are being escorted at all times while on district property.

In addition, workers have installed protective vents on water tanks and welded shut hatches at certain locations to guard against an attempt to contaminate water supplies.

“We are not going to take any chances,” Kendall said.

District officials stress that water systems are not at high risk of contamination because the treatment process disinfects many pollutants. It would take huge amounts of toxins to create any effect, they say.

At Lake Casitas near Ojai, security has been tight around the Casitas Dam since the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Casitas Municipal Water District serves 55,000 people in Ojai and western Ventura. The district’s water supplies are stored in Lake Casitas, the county’s largest reservoir, with a capacity of about 250,000 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot is enough water to serve two families for one year.

Last fall, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation completed a $42-million project to reinforce the 40-year-old dam in the event of a major earthquake. About 14,000 people live south of the dam.

Even before the terrorist attacks, security around the structure was tight, with access to roads leading to the dam blocked.

But in recent weeks, the district has beefed up security even more. And Casitas General Manager John Johnson doesn’t see that changing any time soon.

“The dam has been closed for some time,” he said, “and the water around the dam is a closed area.”

The district is taking additional measures to guard against terrorism, but he refused to discuss them, saying: “I think that it is better for security if it is unknown.”

Dana Wisehart, general manager of United Water Conservation District, which pumps water for 175,000 people in Santa Paula, Fillmore and eastern Ventura, also declined to discuss what specific steps her agency is taking to tighten security.

Last week, United closed access to its dam at Lake Piru and put additional patrols on the structure, which sits upstream from Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ventura and Oxnard. Lake Piru and Lake Casitas remain open for recreation.

The tightening of security will not be cheap. Calleguas is looking at spending $500,000 to $1 million on retrofitting and new technology to detect tampering, Kendall said. The expenditure would come from reserve funds and would not be passed on to customers, he said.

Today, United’s board will discuss spending up to $20,000 to purchase equipment to increase security at its facilities. The money would initially come from reserve funds. However, staff members will work on paring the budget or finding available state or federal money to cover the cost.

Concerned about revealing the district’s plans, Wisehart sought to discuss the security issue in closed session, but United’s lawyer advised against it.

Wisehart said she is fairly certain that the board will approve the recommended expenditure.