C ALI FORN IA’S OLDE ST NE W SPAPER
– E S T. 18 51
– Midweek Edition – VOLUME 173 • ISSUE 63 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2024
History rolls through
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FIRE SERVICES ANALYSIS
Officials fired up over report Malachi Parker Staff writer
“Hearsay.” “Trash.” “Garbage.” These and other harsh words were echoed at the El Dorado County Fire Protection District Board of Directors meeting where directors and the public discussed the Comparative Analysis for Ongoing Fire Protections Services prepared for the Cameron Park Community Services District. The board met to break down the findings shared by consultant and former El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer Don Ashton in the analysis made public over Memorial Day weekend. A top recommendation in the report is to annex the Cameron Park Fire Department into the El Dorado Hills Fire Department, not into the EDCFPD. Fire board directors expressed frustration June 6 as they expected a completely different report — one for which they answered questions and provided intel — to be released by the CPCSD. AP Triton was hired by Cameron Park directors last summer to conduct a fire agency annexation
After a week of traveling over the Sierra Nevada from Round Hill, Nev., the Highway 50 Association Wagon Train came down Main Street in Placerville Saturday before completing its 75th annual trip. Visitors from far and wide lined the street to watch the horse-drawn wagons roll through the Golden History Day celebration. Though some wagons were pulled by normal-sized horses, the biggest ones were hauled by massive draft horses. The Hangtown Marshals, at right, were out in force Saturday, helping keep the streets clear and safe as the wagon train arrived.
■ See REPORT, page A5
Mountain Democrat photos by Odin Rasco
EDH Water Treatment Plant overhaul on the horizon Dawn Hodson
Mountain Democrat correspondent
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“We’ve MacGyver’ed it enough,” said El Dorado Irrigation District General manager Jim Abercrombie. “We need to fix it.” Abercrombie uttered that statement several times as he and members of EID’s Board
of Directors toured the El Dorado Hills Water Treatment Plant on Monday. The tour group led by Water Treatment Supervisor Bill Petterson trooped up and down metal stairs surveying every inch of the facility. Petterson described in detail why the 63-year-old plant is in dire need of upgrades and renovation as the county and its water needs continue to grow. In particular Petterson outlined how often he and his staff have had to come up with creative “MacGyver” type solutions due to the age of the equipment, system limitations that occur during peak demand and the ongoing need to provide quality water using current technology. And all of this despite previous upgrades to the plant.
Photo by Dawn Hodson
EID Water Treatment Supervisor Bill Petterson describes the role of clarifiers in the water treatment process to visitors during a June 10 tour of the El Dorado Hills Water Treatment Plant. The tour was particularly timely as it followed on the heels of Monday’s regular meeting of the EID Board of Directors where staff reviewed
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a draft Water and Recycled Water Master Plan. The update recommended extensive and needed capital investments to EID’s water system through
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the year 2045. Covered in the draft plan were recommended infrastructure improvements addressing such issues as transmission
mains that create capacity constraints and pressure issues, inadequate storage areas with certain wastewater treatment plants needing capacity expansions and inadequate recycled water infrastructure that requires potable water supplements under peak demand conditions. While at present EID officials anticipate the district has enough water to meet current and projected demands — providing an average of 32 million gallons of water per day to a maximum of 64 mgd to its customers — by 2045 the projected demand is expected to rise to an average of 35.3 mgd and further water demand may rise even higher to an average of 51.7 mgd or 102.8 mgd. And though EID as a
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