Lake Echo residents concerned about the persistently low water level in the lake filled the room at the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] Board Work Session on Monday morning, February 11, prompting President President Bob Darr to move that discussion up on the agenda.
Echo was lowered three feet last Fall in order to repair a valve, and the lake has yet to return to its former level. It is projected to take ten full days of pumping to move enough water from Lake Sequoia to refill Echo.
SLLA Manager Ray Sohl presented a $10,542 bid for the pumping job, received from one firm on Friday, that he said was the most cost-effective solution to restoring twenty inches of water to Lake Echo. But Board Member Don Fentzlaff said the Lakes and Dams Committee had not had a chance to review that proposal.
“$10,000 is a pretty healthy sum," Fentzlaff said. "A lot is involved: pump and hoses, closing off the dam for the time period that the pump is running -- and it will have to run 24/27.”
Noting the safety hazard posed by having vehicles drive over the hoses, President Darr said: “I am in support of closing off the dam. I have to come across the dam all the time. It would be somewhat of an inconvenience, but my recommendation is to close the road anyway. In my estimation it is only a small inconvenience.”
“The goal is to get it back to the level it was when we first started draining it,” said Fentzlaff. “Raising Echo twenty inches will lower Sequoia seven inches. It will bring the lakes to the same level. “We cannot take one lake down further than the one you are pumping into.”
Board Member Chuck Leach agreed with Fentzlaff: “When we chose to lower the entire lake to fix the valve, that was only half the project. We need to finish the job.”
Currently, docks on Echo are sitting in dry ground and the boat ramp is out of the water. The irrigation pipes of lakefront property owners are also above the current water level.
“Once Echo is raised, we need to encourage people to be prudent when irrigating,” said Fentzlaff.
Taking into consideration the likelihood of late Winter and early Spring rains, Treasurer Conrad Meyer encouraged the Board to chose a company quickly. If Lake Sequoia is lowered before the Spring rains, he said, it will have a chance to refill.
Residents Offer to Contribute
Several Lake Echo residents offered pledges toward the expense. “Pumping should begin as soon as possible," said resident Bill Hirsch." We have a reasonable shot at rain replenishing the bulk of what’s left.”
Fentzlaff agreed that it was time to act. Although he was impressed that some of the residents offered pledges, he said the Board could not factor in that income.
“We can’t delay the process waiting to see how much the residents are going to give," Fentzlaff said. "I don’t think we can postpone it any longer."
“We are an Association, and we pay dues," Director Leach noted. "This is what we are supposed to do. I am opposed to accepting money [from residents]. This is the Association’s responsibility.”
“I think Chuck [Leach] made an important point," Meyer said. "When we take on these projects in the future, we need to budget for the expense it will take to restore it back to its original state. That cost needs to be added in.”
SLLA policy requires that any expense in excess of $5,000 be sent out for bids. Director Bob Racine moved and the Board agreed to vote on the proposed pumping contract in the February 27 Open Meeting. The approved contract would not exceed the $10,542 bid already in hand; and, in the meantime, the Association will solicit other bids. All bids will be presented at the Open Meeting.
