HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 12251
City of Palo Alto (ID # 12251)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 8/9/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: East Palo Alto Water Intertie Agreement
Title: Approve an Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and the City of
East Palo Alto for a Limited Emergency Water Supply Intertie
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Utilities
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee
to execute an intertie agreement with the City of East Palo Alto to provide limited water supply
due to an emergency, disaster or other temporary service disruption, via temporarily
reconnecting the Original Intertie located at Woodland Avenue and University Avenue in the
City of East Palo Alto.
Background
The City of Palo Alto (CPA) and the City of East Palo Alto (EPA) are neighboring cities that share
a boundary and a namesake. Each City has its own water system to provide water service to its
customers. CPA has an Individual Supply Guarantee (ISG), a contractual right to purchase water
from San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy water system, of about 17 million gallons per day (MGD).
Therefore, CPA historically had greater access to water, compared to EPA’s ISG of about 2 MGD.
On May 15, 2018, the Cities executed an agreement to transfer a portion of CPA’s ISG, 0.5
MGD, to EPA (Staff Report #9041). In supporting this decision, council members reflected on
building a spirit of cooperation between the two cities. In keeping with that goal, an additional
action has been proposed: reestablishing an intertie connection between the two cities’ water
systems, so that the cities can transfer water to each other in an emergency, disaster, or other
temporary service disruption.
An intertie is an interconnection permitting passage of a commodity between two or more
utility systems. There is an existing intertie connection (Original Intertie) at the intersection of
Woodland Avenue and University Avenue in EPA. However, this intertie was disconnected
about 20 years ago and never re-connected. Until a New Intertie is operable, the parties have
agreed to permit EPA to temporarily connect at the Original Intertie, until EPA builds a New
Intertie at a location agreed upon with CPA.
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Discussion
Project Description
In the next 6-12 months, EPA will reconnect the Original Intertie at their cost. They will install a
new meter vault and appurtenances as shown in the Interie Details (Linked Document) of the
Intertie Agreement. Complying with CPA construction standards, EPA will handle all design,
construction, environmental review and permitting. CPA will own a gate valve, valve padlock,
and flow meter in the meter vault, allowing CPA staff to open and shut the connection as
needed and to track the volume of water transferred to EPA so that EPA can reimburse CPA for
the wholesale cost of actual water used. CPA and EPA will share the maintenance costs of the
vault equally.
By the end of 2025, EPA will design and construct the New Intertie, on University Avenue east
of Crescent Drive (the location shown in the Map of the Intertie Agreement) (Linked
Document). EPA will handle all design, construction, environmental review and permitting. CPA
staff will have the opportunity to review the design (Linked Document) to ensure the New
Intertie will comply with CPA construction standards. The vault design will include flow meters
for CPA and EPA, allowing for transfer of water in either direction. Before the New Intertie is
constructed, CPA and EPA will amend the terms of the Intertie Agreement to reflect the use and
operation of the New Intertie and the decommissioning of the Original. CPA will be responsible
for its pipes up to the New Intertie location, and EPA will be responsible for their pipes between
the New Intertie and Original Intertie.
Bid Process
There is no bid process for this project, as there is no construction work for CPA to perform.
EPA will reconnect the Original Intertie at their own expense. They will also install the New
Intertie by the end of 2025 at their own expense. EPA will be responsible for the bid processes
on both projects.
Resource Impact
This Intertie Agreement has minimal financial impacts, as CPA will not be performing any new
construction work. CPA will take on new maintenance costs for a 6” gate valve, a valve padlock,
and a 6” flow meter, as well as 50% of the costs of maintaining a new 36” x 60” vault, to be
constructed by EPA. CPA will also keep maintenance responsibility for about 40 linear feet of 6”
cast iron pipe between water valve 1815 and the New Intertie location, while EPA will keep
maintenance responsibility for about 167 linear feet of 6” cast iron pipe between the New
Intertie and Original Intertie locations. The frequency of maintenance for the CPA intertie
facilities will be on an annual basis and cost less than $600 per year. See the Map of the Intertie
Agreement (Linked Document).
Policy Implications
Per the Intertie Agreement, Section 1. Interconnection Location, the Original Intertie “shall
operate only when CPA is capable of providing supplemental water above and beyond that
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which is required to service its needs,” and such water shall be “supplemental water for a
limited period of time due to an emergency, disaster, or other temporary service disruption to
[EPA’s] customers.” In the following clause, Section 2. Water Supply is for a Limited Purpose
Only, the agreement states that “nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute a dedication of
the water supply of either Party to service the territory of the other Party or to constitute a
commitment to supply water to the other Party as a regular customer.” Given these provisions,
the reconnection of an intertie with EPA does not interfere with CPA’s ability to serve its
customers, since no commitment is made to provide water when CPA does not have water to
spare. CPA will still be able to meet California Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water
recommended emergency water storage volume of 8 hours of maximum day water demand
while maintaining firefighting reserves.
In addition, reestablishing the intertie with EPA follows through on the “good neighbor” intent
of intercity cooperation supported by council members who voted on March 7, 2018, to
transfer 0.5 MGD of CPA’s individual supply guarantee to EPA. EPA does not have many tank
reservoirs for water storage, so use of an intertie may also reduce EPA’s need to pump
groundwater during an emergency. This could also help CPA, since groundwater pumping in
EPA could reduce emergency groundwater supplies in CPA and contribute to saltwater intrusion
into CPA’s groundwater.
Stakeholder Engagement
As part of the work on the 2018 Transfer of Individual Supply Guarantee agreement, the
following collaboration was noted in the minutes of the May 7, 2018 CPA City Council meeting:
“Discussions between the EPA and Palo Alto city managers have identified a number of public
benefits that would accrue through a 0.5 MGD transfer and additional collaboration between
the two cities. In addition to the social and economic benefit to EPA from appropriate
development and EPA’s limited groundwater use, staffs from EPA and Palo Alto are continuing
to work on ensuring infrastructure spanning the two cities also supports compatible uses.” At
that City Council meeting, council members, members of the public, and the EPA mayor had the
opportunity to speak about their opinions on cooperation between CPA and EPA in the area of
water supply. This Intertie Agreement follows from the earlier Transfer of Individual Supply
Guarantee agreement, by updating the water “infrastructure spanning the two cities”. The
concern raised in that 2018 council meeting regarding: ‘giving away a valuable water right
without compensation’ does not apply to the Intertie Agreement, since Palo Alto’s water
allocation does not change, and any water transferred through the intertie from CPA to EPA
must be paid for by EPA.
Environmental Review
The Council’s approval of this Intertie Agreement does not require the City to conduct
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review, since it does not meet the definition of a
“project” under section 21065 of the CA Public Resources Code, nor does it involve any
construction on the part of CPA. Under Section 3 of the Intertie Agreement, Reactivation of
Original Intertie Connection, EPA will “conduct the environmental review and obtain all
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necessary permits and approvals” for the Original Intertie work. EPA’s approval of the Intertie
Agreements will likely be categorically exempt from CEQA review under CEQA Guidelines
section 15401 (repair, maintenance or minor alteration of existing facilities).
Attachments:
• Attachment A: Agreement
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
AND THE CITY OF EAST PALO ALTO FOR
LIMITED EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY INTERTIE
THIS AGREEMENT is made as ofthis ____ day of ____ 20_
("Effective Date"), by and between the City of Palo Alto, California, a chartered California
municipal corporation with its primary business address at 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto
California 94301 ("PA") and the City of East Palo Alto, a general law California municipal
corporation with its primary business address at 2415 University Avenue, Second Floor, East Palo
Alto, California 94303 ("EPA"). PA and EPA may be referred to individually as a "Party" or
collectively as the "Parties" or the "Parties to this Agreement."
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RECITALS
1. The Parties provide water service to their respective, adjacent service areas in Palo
Alto and East Palo Alto; and
2. On May 15, 2018, the Parities executed an Agreement for the Permanent Transfer of
a Portion of an Individual Supply Guarantee from the City of Palo Alto to the City of
East Palo; and
3. Each Party has its own water supply and under usual and ordinary operating
conditions neither Party would have occasion to purchase water from the other Party;
and
4. An intertie exists between the Parties' water distribution systems on Woodland
Avenue in East Palo Alto, at the intersection of University Avenue and Woodland
Avenue and shown on the attached map (Exhibit 1) as "Original lntertie", but that
intertie has been disconnected since approximately 2000 and has not been used since;
and
5. In the next 6 to 12 months, East Palo Alto plans to temporarily reconnect the Original
lntertie at its cost, to be available for use until the New lntertie is connected; and
6. By December 31, 2025, East Palo Alto intends to design, purchase, and construct a
new interconnection farther south, on University Avenue, (the "New lntertie")
approximately 167' south of the Original lntertie (shown on the attached map, Exhibit
1, and in detail on Exhibit 2), and the Parties anticipate that they will amend this
Agreement to reflect the use and operation of the New lntertie at the appropriate
time; and
D. Perform inspection and construction oversight; and
E. Test and accept the completed work, and provide final 'as-built' documents to
PA.
EPA will pay for all costs pertaining to the design, materials purchase, and construction of
the Original lntertie, and will share all contract specifications, drawings, bid solicitations and
proposals with PA for PA's review and approval before finalizing them. EPA will connect the
Original lntertie to the PA distribution system in accordance with PA standard specifications and
to EPA's distribution system in accordance with EPA standard specifications. Upon completion
of construction, EPA shall transfer ownership of the Original lntertie gate valve, lock, and meter,
shown as item 1 and 2 on Exhibit 2, to PA. EPA will retain ownership of the facilities up to the
EPA side of the Original lntertie meter, including the meter vault.
4.
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Maintenance of Original lntertie.
A. PA Responsibility. Once the Original lntertie is completed to the satisfaction of
both Parties,
a. PA, at its sole cost, will be responsible for maintaining and repairing
the pipelines, 611 gate valve padlock, and 611 flow meter as shown
on Exhibit 2 as Items 1 and 2 at the Original lntertie location, up to
the New lntertie location, except for the 167' of pipeline shown on
the attached map (Exhibit 1) in green.
b. The cost of maintaining and repairing the vault will be shared
equally (50% each) between EPA and PA. EPA will pay PA its share
for the cost for maintenance and repair of the vault as costs are
incurred by PA. PA will provide EPA with written documentation of
actual costs incurred that describes all materials purchased and
services provided, including the persons providing the services and
their hourly rates. EPA will pay fifty percent (50%) of the approved
invoice within sixty (60) days from the date of receipt of the invoice.
B. EPA Responsibility.
a. EPA, at its sole cost, will be responsible for maintaining and
repairing all pipelines, valves, and related water system
appurtenances on the Original lntertie, including the meter box,
except for the 6" gate valve, padlock and 6" flow meter (shown on
Exhibit 2 as Items 1 and 2). EPA will be responsible for the 167'
portion of the main located within both EPA and Palo Alto between
the Original lntertie and the New lntertie, which is shown on the
attached map {Exhibit 1) in green.
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5. Sale of Water.
A. Manner of Request for Water. EPA ("Requester") may request to obtain water
from the PA ("Supplier"), which may provide water to the Requester to the
extent Supplier has water available in view of its circumstances and demands
at that time as determined by the Supplier, in its sole discretion. The Requester
will provide the Supplier with a written request for water with as much
advance notice as possible. Verbal requests for water may be permitted if
necessary, in emergencies only, and must be documented with a written
request within 2 business days. Requests for water shall be delivered to the
addressees listed in Section 19 of this Agreement.
B. Obligation to Supply Water is Limited. The obligation to supply water
hereunder is limited (1) to surplus water above and beyond that required to
service the needs of the Supplier1s regular customers as determined by the
Supplier in its sole discretion, and (2) to a reasonable period of time to alleviate
the emergency or other temporary service disruption situation. Any sale of
water under this Agreement shall not be considered to be a dedication of
water to either Party for growth or other purposes, or an authorization of a
permanent expansion of either Party's water service area. The Supplier shall
provide verbal or written agreement to the Requester prior to the delivery of
water under this Agreement, and representatives of PA and EPA will be
present during the commencement and cessation of delivery of water. At no
time will the Requester operate the Supplier's water system appurtenances,
such as valves, regulators, or hydrants.
C. Monitoring and Metering. The amount of water provided by one Party to the
other will be monitored, metered, and documented. Metered volumes of
water provided by the Supplier shall count toward the Requester's volume of
water used for purposes of reporting to the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission (SFPUC), the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the
Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), or any other
public agency or regulatory body. Metered volumes of water provided by the
Supplier shall not be construed to increase or otherwise affect the Requester's
Individual Supply Guarantee under Section 3.02 of the Water Supply
Agreement executed by both Parties in July 2009, or the Agreement for the
Permanent Transfer of a portion of a Portion of an Individual Supply Guarantee
from the City of Palo Alto to the City of East Palo Alto executed by both Parties
in 2018. The Requester will be responsible for compliance with any reporting
requirements required by Section 3.07(8){2) of the Water Supply Agreement
that may be triggered by any sale of water under this Agreement.
6. Compensation for Water Usage. The Requester will compensate the Supplier at
the wholesale rate charged to the Supplier at the time of the delivery of the water by the San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Charges will be made only for months in which water is
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16. Integrated Document -Totality of Agreement. This Agreement embodies the
agreement between PA and EPA and its terms and conditions. No other understanding,
agreements, or conversations, or otherwise, with any officer, agent, or employee of PA or EPA
prior to execution of this Agreement shall affect or modify any of the terms or obligations
contained in any documents comprising this Agreement, any such verbal agreement shall be
considered as unofficial information and in no way binding upon PA or EPA.
17. No Third-Party Beneficiary. This Agreement shall not be construed to be an
agreement for the benefit of any third party or parties and no third party or parties shall have any
claim or right of action under this Agreement for any cause whatsoever.
18. Captions. The captions of the various sections, paragraphs and subparagraphs of
this Agreement are for convenience only and shall not be considered or referred to in resolving
questions or interpretation.
19. Amendments. This Agreement may be changed only by a written amendment
signed by both of the Parties.
20. Notice. Any notice required or permitted to be given by this Agreement shall be in
writing, de.livered personally or deposited in the United States mail, first class postage prepaid,
addressed as follows:
If to PA:
If to EPA:
City of Palo Alto
3201 East Bayshore Frontage Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Attention: Water-Gas-Wastewater Operations Manager, or
Water Transmission Supervisor, 650-496-6932
City of East Palo Alto
2415 University Avenue, 2nd Floor
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Attention: Public Works Director
Either Party by notice given as described above may change the address to which notice shall
thereafter be delivered.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement by their duly authorized
representatives as of the day and year first above written.
CITY OF PALO ALTO CITY OF EAST PALO AL TO
Assistant City Manager ~~-ni a ityManager
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