Position Paper - Robin Berens - Priorities.

By Robin Berens

If elected to the Directorship, Division 5, (Orinda North of Highway 24), the matters on which I would concentrate my energies, in order of priority are:

Morale appears to be excellent, I would want to satisfy myself on that issue.

Rectification of the inadequate state of the Fire Fighting Water Supply delivery system in Orinda

The pipes in the ground, we understand, are owned by EBMUD. In order for the Fire District to do its job in a fire situation they must have adequate water. Would we send our men & women of the armed forces into harm's way with inadequate ammunition and expect them to win, let alone survive? Surely we can do no less for the personnel of our Fire District. Water IS their primary ammunition!

It has been determined that we require a fire flow of at least (a) 1000 Gallons per Minute (GPM) at a single hydrant to fight present day structure fires. I believe one third of our hydrants flow considerably less than this, many as low as 500 GPM or lower. I understand that ideally the flow should be (b) 1000+ GPM or 2250+ GPM combined flow from three adjacent hydrants.

A computer model study was commissioned with EBMUD at the expense of the old Orinda Fire Department in order to find the cost of either, (a) or (b). It was found that it was deemed safe to settle for (a) the 1000 GPM standard from 90% of the hydrants, and that it would cost approximately 12 Million Dollars. ((b) the 1000 GPM/ 2250 GPM combined flow from 3 adjacent hydrants would cost approximately 50 Million Dollars.)

There are some doubts about the validity of the study since the input data are the results of flow testing of the individual hydrants. These apparently are required to be tested once every three years, (One third each year) and the tabulation in the MOFD web site discloses that some have not been tested for five years, some as long as ten years. It would seem that perhaps a crash program should be instigated to bring these data current without delay.

Many streets have 4" diameter water mains. It is confirmed by EBMUD that at a typical static pressure of 65 psi a new 4" main obeying the immutable laws of physics, could not deliver 1000 gpm.

The system has to be updated as soon as possible, we have been very lucky thus far, let's not wait until our luck runs out. The time for action is NOW!

The estimates are from EBMUD. Perhaps we should have others quote, perhaps considering other techniques than trenching. We understand that some pipe replacement can be achieved without exposing the old pipe.

Let's examine all the funding options as we understand them

• A Bond Issue: Requires, we understand, a 66% vote.
• The creation of a Special Assessment District: Requires, we understand, a simple majority vote.
• Having EBMUD fund a large portion of the total: Taking our street, Camino del Diablo, as an example. Our 4" mains were laid in 1940. We understand that EBMUD assigns pipes a 75-100 year useful life. Give them the benefit of the 100 year figure. If we update to a 6" main, EBMUD should logically pay 60% of the cost since they will end up with a 75-100 year pipe.
• Forming a committee of City/Town talent with Insurance Industry experience to investigate the involvement of the Insurance Industry on the basis of mitigation of their own exposure.
• Approaching FEMA on the same basis. (We understand that FEMA has funded earthquake retrofit at UC Berkeley based on the mitigation issue.)
• Another source of funding might be the instigation of a Business License in Orinda.
• I understand that amongst the Water Companies in California only EBMUD, Marin Water District, and Sacramento Municipal Utility District do not have legal responsibility for the adequate delivery of Fire Fighting Water. Further I understand that Marin elects to take upon itself a moral responsibility for such delivery.

I see this as critically important. Perhaps we should have learned more from the Oakland Hills Fire. The Fire Marshall is implementing provisions of the Bates Bill, I believe she needs more cooperation from all of us, it's to our distinct advantage. I believe there needs to be more public education on this point, people need to know what is required of them, how to achieve this, and what equipment help, like a chipper, is available to help them. Perhaps Neighborhood Watch should be trained to educate & guide the public.

Keeping streets clear to allow twenty four hours per day, seven days per week unimpeded passage of Emergency Vehicles

Since ALL District response vehicles carry at least one paramedic, the medical response vehicle may be the largest, longest Fire Engine. Time is usually of the essence! The two major issues to be addressed appear to be: (a) Vegetation growth into, and above, the roadway. This should be dealt with by the City/Town and property owners.

(b) Vehicle parking. The enactment of ordinances by the City/Town should be explored to address this issue, particularly, on certain streets. Examine one side of the street only parking. Some streets perhaps should be designated as Fire Lanes. More stringent enforcement of the 72 hour parking limit ordinance appears to be indicated.

If elected I would look into having periodic meetings with people from the various different areas of Division 5, since the concerns of people in the El Toyonal area tend to be somewhat different from those in, for instance, the Lake Cascade area, or Sleepy Hollow.