POA, City Council, EVMWD hold joint meeting

The POA Board of Directors, City Council and Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD) Board of Directors gathered for a historic joint meeting on Monday evening in the Holiday Bay Room at the lodge. The meeting was open to the public.

The tri-party meeting included an overview of the history, regulations and use of Canyon Lake, past agreements and the latest settlement agreement between the POA and EVMWD. Dredging also was a topic of discussion.

The main topic of discussion was centered on the settlement agreement between the POA and EVMWD in regards to encroachments into the lake by property owners. The current number of encroachments is approximately 1,100.

The POA leases the lake and shoreline from EVMWD, as per agreement. At the discretion of the POA and EVMWD, lakefront homeowners can maintain certain shoreline/lake improvements. As part of the recent settlement agreement between the POA and EVMWD, all encroachments on the shoreline/lake approved by the POA and EVMWD prior to Mar. 26, 2019, are automatically grandfathered in. According to EVMWD, if the homeowner sells the property, the new owner is grandfathered in.

“EVMWD is allowing that encroachment to carry forward from now until eternity,” said EVMWD Director Phil Williams.

The court and the POA will be providing more details to homeowners regarding opting in or out of the settlement agreement. By opting out, the POA and EVMWD would have the right to ask the homeowner to remove any encroachments on EVMWD property.

Future encroachments will be at the discretion of the POA and EVMWD. As part of the settlement and to avoid any illegal or excessive encroachments, a new application process has been established for future encroachments that will protect all parties going forward. New docks and sea walls are excluded while the POA and EVMWD work through the final documents.

Settlement Agreement

The settlement agreement between the POA and EVMWD can be viewed at canyonlakepoa.com/372/lake-lease. A summary of the major points of the settlement are as follows:

1. The settlement will be effective after 10 days from the date the court grants final approval of class certification and class settlement, provided neither CLPOA nor EVMWD exercise an option to cancel the settlement within that time.
2. As of the effective date of the settlement, EVMWD will approve all shoreline improvements existing as of March 26, 2019, regardless of whether EVMWD believes such shoreline improvements are permissible under the Lake Lease.
3. Going forward, shoreline owners will need approval from both CLPOA and EVMWD to make any “material change or construction of new shoreline improvement,” (as that term is defined in the settlement) and to execute a “License Agreement” (the form of which is attached to the settlement) to be recorded against the requesting shoreline owner’s property, as originally intended by the Lake Lease.
4. CLPOA and EVMWD agree to dismiss all claims against each other in this action, pursuant to a mutual release and waiver of CC § 1542.
5. CLPOA and EVMWD to bear their own costs relative to this action.
6. CLPOA and EVMWD agree the boundary of the real property leased by CLPOA pursuant to the Lake Lease is as described in the survey, incorporated into the settlement agreement as Attachment 2.
7. After judgment is entered in this matter, an abstract of judgment will be recorded against all Lakefront Lots. CLPOA and EVMWD will equally share the costs of recording such abstracts of judgment, so future purchasers have constructive notice of the shoreline improvements that have been approved by EVMWD pursuant to the settlement, as well as the required process for future shoreline improvements.

Dredging

The POA’s Dredging Project that was started in 2003 was never completed. Since then, the lake has been filling with silt and sentiment in the East Bay, reducing the water capacity and causing issues with some docks and boat lifts. The POA’s plan is to continue to apply for grants and permits for the multi-million dollar project. “It’s a very complicated process. It involves a lot of funding and technical information,” POA President Dale Welty said. “It’s really a journey. We’ve taken a lot of steps and we know a lot more than we did a year ago.”

“I would like to see what we can do together and not just each entity individually but collectively,” said EVMWD Director Darcy Burke.

“The city is willing to help of course and we have the ability to apply for grants,” Mayor Jordan Ehrenkranz said. “I was on the POA Board when we started the Dredging Project and I was on the POA Board when we, unfortunately, ended the Dredging Project. We really missed a golden opportunity at that time to do things. But that’s the past and this is the present and I think that as a result of this type of meeting we are going to all work together. I know that the homeowners on the East Bay are unhappy quite often but we’re going to do whatever we can to have that fixed.”

Lake History

In 1928, the Temescal Water Company constructed Railroad Canyon Dam. In 1952, EVMWD purchased 3,000 acre-feet of storage rights. EVMWD constructed the Canyon Lake Water Treatment Plant in 1957.

In 1968, the POA and Temescal Water Company entered into a lease agreement for the right to use the reservoir for surface activities, such as boating and fishing, and for constructing and maintaining surface structures, such as docks, sea walls and launching ramps.

In 1989, EVMWD acquired Temescal Water Company and its water rights.

Lake Lease

The original Lake Lease agreement in 1968 was for a 55-year term, which would have expired on Dec. 31, 2022. In 2017, the lease was extended through 2066.

The Lake Lease payments are adjusted on a yearly basis based on the Consumer Price Index. There is also a floor and ceiling to the payment increases – the POA’s Lake Lease payments will never increase more than four percent per year and the minimum increase will be one percent per year.

Recreational Use

Health and Safety Code section 115825 does not allow body contact in a drinking water reservoir without an exception. EVMWD initiated Assembly Bill 2439, which passed in 2004, that would exempt Canyon Lake and allow body contact under the condition that EVMWD meets stringent water treatment guidelines as set by the state. This enabled the continued dual use of Railroad Canyon Reservoir as a drinking water supply and recreational water body.

Reservoir

The Railroad Canyon Reservoir covers approximately 507 acres and 15 miles of shoreline. It holds nearly 12,000 acre-feet of water behind the dam. The reservoir impounds local runoff from the 750 square mile San Jacinto River watershed. The replenishment is largely dependent on rain.

EVMWD’s water supply is a blend of local groundwater, surface water from Canyon Lake and imported water. Canyon Lake is a vital drinking water source for customers of EVMWD, providing approximately 10 percent of EVMWD’s drinking water supply throughout its entire water service area.

The Water Treatment Plant can treat up to five million gallons of water per day. It operates between April and September. EVMWD performs gate valves exercises to ensure functionality. The purpose of the gate valves is for water quality, maintenance and emergency lake level drawdown, not flood control measure.