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BACKGROUND On March 25, 2011, just after midnight, a City water main on the Pleasanton Ridge was broken due to a landslide in the East Bay Regional Park District (the "Park District "). This City water main was part of the original Pleasanton Township County Water District (the "PTCWD "). The water main provides water service to over 160 homes, including some outside of the Pleasanton City limits, but within the original service area of the PTCWD. Operations Services staff immediately responded and realized that based on the size, nature and location of the landslide in the Park District's property, immediate repair of the water main in the same location was infeasible. City staff, including the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department, Police Department, and County Sheriffs Office, then worked to notify all effected residences of the broken water main, the lack of potable water, lack of water for fire hydrants, and the need to find alternative safe water sources until the situation could be assessed, stabilized and repaired. Lack of potable water and operating fire hydrants is a significant health and safety danger to these impacted households. If this situation continues for any length of time, property is also at risk from fire hazards. Recognizing the significant danger to health and safety, and to protect persons and property, the City Manager, acting as the Director of Emergency Services pursuant to the authority granted by the Pleasanton Municipal Code 2.44.060.A.1., issued a proclamation of a local emergency on Friday March 25, 2011 (see Attachment 1) because the City Council was not in session and therefore not able to declare the local emergency themselves. The proclamation allows City staff to undertake emergency repairs of the broken water main. This includes contacting qualified contractors to determine which are available to do immediate work, which ones have available to them the flexible pipe materials suitable for the repair, as well as utilizing City staff's expertise and equipment to study the slide, damage, and repair options. One practical effect of the declaration of a local emergency is to allow City staff to directly negotiate the repair work with qualified contractors, without the need for preparing project documents and descriptions, formal public notice of availability of the project for bid, and the formal bidding procedures which would cause significant delay in this time sensitive situation. In addition, the declaration of a local emergency allows City staff to expend available funds from the Water Enterprise Fund and other contingency funds to undertake these repairs without advance City Council appropriation of the funds. 1 City staff also notified Park District staff, and is in the process of obtaining an encroachment permit from the Park District. The City then closed access to the Pleasanton Ridge from Golden Eagle, and has posted notices at other park entrances in Pleasanton, as well as secured the site of the broken water main. Page 2 of 3