Who will pay for spillway repairs?

Oroville. But discussion is warming up on another issue: Who pays for repair costs?

Some residents say the Department of Water Resources should pay for it, since the state department is responsible for maintaining and operating Lake Oroville as part of the State Water Project. State officials are hoping the federal government provides financial relief.

However, both DWR and state officials said at a joint Assembly committee hearing on Thursday that if the federal government doesn’t foot the bill, state water contractors will – and that could potentially mean increased costs for Yuba City Public Works customers.

Assemblyman James Gallagher attended Thursday’s hearing. He said DWR stated its intent to obtain whatever federal

relief it can to pay for repairs.

Federal money has been made available for emergency relief efforts, but there is only so much. Whatever is not covered by federal funding will end up being the responsibility of water contractors, Gallagher said.

“In Yuba City’s case, they would potentially have some part in that, although a small percentage. I don’t know what the numbers would be but there is going to be some obligation on the part of the water contractors for whatever DWR cannot get covered,” Gallagher said.

Representatives with Yuba City Public Works could not be reached on Friday afternoon in time for publication.

U.S. Congressman John Garamendi said he thinks federal funding should be reserved for other projects in need of desperate repair.

“I think the Department of Water Resources and state water contractors will try to do everything possible to avoid the financial responsibility,” Garamendi said. “A lot of us feel that it’s their reservoir and their water. They are the ones that screwed up so they should be the ones to pay for it.”

If the federal funds designated for emergency relief are used solely for repairs at the reservoir, they will be taken away from other areas that need to be addressed, he said.

“If all of the money goes to repairs at Oroville, there will be nothing left to repair the levees downstream and the roads that were damaged because of heavy truck traffic during the emergency response efforts,” Garamendi said.

So why doesn’t DWR pay for it?

Gallagher said it’s not that simple. DWR is funded through the state’s general fund, which in turn, is fed by California taxpayers.

“Unfortunately, whatever way you go, the taxpayers will have to foot the bill,” Gallagher said. “For the most part, you want the main users of the water system, or the beneficiaries of it, to be on the hook for it before general taxpayers have to. But believe me, I totally understand the concerns. This wasn’t Yuba City’s or its residents’ fault.”

The state currently esti- mates the repair costs to be more than a half-billion dollars, but has not honed in on a specific number as of yet. DWR is hoping to get the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund 75 percent of all construction costs, but still hasn’t heard whether or not funds will be designated for emergency response and recovery efforts.

It’s not clear what each state water contractor would be on the hook for if FEMA doesn’t designate funding for the spillway repairs. But state officials have made it clear, ratepayers of the 29 state water contractors – about 26 million Californians – will be the fallback.

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