Water supervisor Justin Smith leaving CCSD

Justin Smith, the busy supervisor of the Cambria Community Services District water systems department, resigned Friday, Sept. 9, giving two weeks’ notice. He’s been with the district since 2007 and earns $7,361 a month.

Smith confirmed by phone Monday that he has accepted a position with San Luis Obispo County, adding that he didn’t want to comment further about his departure or his reasons for resigning.

“There’s still a lot to figure out,” he said. “I want to leave the district in good standing, in the best possible situation that I can. I want to work with Jerry (Gruber, district general manager) and everybody else to figure out who’s going to be doing what.”

Gruber said by email Monday that “Justin has taken a position with the county of San Luis Obispo drinking water department.”

In an email sent Tuesday to the directors and others, Gruber wrote, “I will not go into detail why Justin has chosen to depart. I will save that for our next board meeting so I can clearly state publically why he chose to leave the district. True transparency allows for me to share the insanity associated with his departure and the harassment he has endured over these last few months from one particular person within the community.”

District Director Greg Sanders said in an email interview Monday that “it is very unfortunate that Justin Smith was subjected to abusive language and harsh treatment by a small minority of residents who oppose some current CCSD policies. I believe that factored into his decision to resign. Enough is enough. It is one thing to heap abuse on the board of directors and general manager. That comes with the territory. It is entirely another thing to treat good employees in this manner. At the next board meeting, I am going to ask that a policy be developed to prevent this from occurring again.”

Sanders — who was on the CCSD Board of Directors when Smith was hired — called the departing supervisor “a highly valued employee” who rose through the ranks to head the department and become “very adept at managing the very complex and highly regulated pumping regimen at both Santa Rosa Creek and San Simeon Creek. He also became very adept at running the Sustainable Water Facility. I appreciated Justin for his work ethic, dedication to the district and the residents of Cambria, and his candor … he will be missed.”

What’s next

In Gruber’s email Tuesday, he wrote, “Justin’s departure is a change that we are fully capable of addressing … the CCSD has a total of three Grade 3 water operators other than Justin. Two of those operators worked within the water department, one works within the wastewater department.

One of those holding the Grade 3 certification is Larry Moore, who “is fully trained in operating the Sustainable Water Facility (SWF), and has successfully operated the SWF for two consecutive operational periods,” Gruber said. “Larry will continue to do so … (but) will not serve as the SWF chief plant operator.”

Gruber said wastewater Supervisor John Allchin holds a Grade 4 wastewater operator certification and Grade 3 water operator’s certification. On an interim basis, Allchin “has agreed to serve as the SWF chief plant operator and has started his training on the facility today. John has previous experience with similar systems; therefore, the process to train him will be relatively easy.”

Also, the GM continued in his email, “John will assist and act as a backup for Larry while the tracer study is going on. John will be responsible for the Title 22 permit, Title 27 permit” and the federal permit for mitigation water to the creek from the SWF.

“In order to give John the necessary support he needs and not spread him too thin,” Gruber said, “we will reach out to FRM (Fluid Resource Management) and ask them to periodically assist with wastewater operations as they previously did while we were recruiting for a wastewater supervisor. Stewart Stuart from FRM is very familiar with the plant and can be called upon if needed.”

Gruber was to have interviewed an additional Grade 3 wastewater operator Wednesday, Sept. 14, who also could provide additional support for Allchin and his department.

There will be other help. Water-quality sampling at the SWF is “very time consuming,” Gruber said, so “we realize that it is unrealistic to have staff operate the facility, conduct the tracer study and collect samples. Therefore we brought Abalone Labs in conjunction BSK Labs on board to handle all of the collecting, transporting and analyzing of the samples for the tracer study and the required samples for the SWF.

“Once the results are received from the lab,” district staff and contractor CDM Smith will submit the required reports to state agencies “in a timely manner,” Gruber said. “Since this is an area that needs improvements, (engineer) Bob Gresens’ soon-to-be assistant will be helping with the coordination efforts.”

Rounding out the changes Gruber outlined, Jason Buhl from the CSD’s water department will be chief plant operator for the San Simeon and Santa Rosa Creek wells, as well as maintaining the district’s distribution system.

Also, Gruber said, “Justin has agreed to stay on part time, weekends, to assist in training Jason” on completing monthly well reports and answering SWF questions from Allchin. “I am hopeful that the time Justin has committed to the district on a part-time basis will be a more enjoyable experience for him, and that out of respect for his almost 10 years of service, that he will be left alone.”

A tricky time

Nevertheless, Smith’s departure comes at a tricky time for the district.

The CSD’s $13 million SWF was restarted in September, in preparation to do the second “tracer” water-flow study required by the state.

Gruber said Monday, “The tracer study will move forward as planned.”

That test would determine how long it takes treated water to travel underground from the injection site to the district’s two supply wells. A tracer element added to the water allows scientists to track its progress.

The state requires a minimum 60-day travel time for the treated water. In a previous test, the water took long enough to get to one well, but the trip to the other well was short by a couple of days.

Meanwhile, the water project’s environmental impact report is out for public and agency comment through Oct. 14, although that time frame may run a little longer, depending on whether directors approve a short time extension at their Sept. 22 meeting.

Another pressure for water department staffers: The Fiscalini water tank project is in the middle of its construction schedule.

The rusty, aging, 320,000-gallon, bolted steel tank has been cut apart and removed, piece by piece.

According to project supervisor Will Bellis on Tuesday, Sept. 13, crews are preparing to pour the foundation for the new tank. Construction on the tank itself is estimated to start near the end of September, weather permitting. Until the new tank is complete, four 10,000-gallon temporary tanks are providing water storage for the areas the tank site serves.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Water supervisor Justin Smith leaving CCSD."