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Home My WebLink About0274.094~, • • . ,. .... f· ~ -~, Hay 12, 1994 Tile HONORABI,E CITY CO(JNeIL Palo 111 to, Cali torllia ,'J • RWOCP Reclaimed Water Projects -Potential Funding Heffibe:re of the Council: fual!u:L i 0 Bri!U. \ Thia is an informational report to advise Council of staff's efforts to investigate potential federal funding for reclaimed water pl.-ojects. No action io required by Council. JtQ:ckground The cities of Palo Alto, San Jose, Swulyvale and other California cities h(w-~ various reclaimed water pl.·ojects under consideration, In many ca&~s. one of the objectives is to reduce wastewater discharges and attain federal water quality standards. In these cases, the pl."ojects con.stitule \1nfunded federal mandates. The City of San Jose has been t:Joeking authorization of federal funds for such a reclaimed water project, ,$§~KWiLL"l .. 4,\lXiI1 FuodsJm:.j'-ll.!,Q.AlJ;.Q Reclaimed Nater ~.Q.I& The environrr.ental impact l."cport on reclaimed water project possibilities for Palo Alto is not complete at this time. Therefore, Council has not determined whE:ther ot· when to implement future proj ects. However, the pl'OCeS8 fo~.: seeking federal funding is generally lengthy and must be commenced ahead of implementation decisions. Por this reason, staff will be sending lett.en;) (similar to the attached) to Congresswoman Eehoo, Congt"essman Mineta and others. nespectful1y 8ub~itted, "P-'4 ~I< PHILIP BOBEr. Environmental Compliance Division ~~~~ Assistant City Manager Attachment:- ,1 . GL8NN S. ROBERTS Director of Public Works '1'00 l/o""",ble Anna F"hoo U. S. Hou .... "f Rcpr=nt.til·" Longworth Building 11505 W",hingIOD. D.C. 10515 Dear Congte.(:$o,.tmman Ethoo: (DATIl) 1be City of Pda Alro is c(lllSidering r~launcd waier proje<:lc; which would utilize IrealOO waslewMer to irriga[c landscape in tbe cornmunhks served b), the Palo Allo RCgLOlt.11 Waler Quail')' Control Plant. The purpose of ~W:h proj«ts woukl be to conserve precious water supplies.and 10 ITI('I fC<Jtl'al Mandards for disdufgt (I) &In Fr.mcis-:o Bay_ Allltough a prima!,)' purpm.e (If the f(.xlalw-eJ water projec:l$. \'>ould be to meet fcden:1I water quality slandards, federal fuooing j~ nat yet aUlhoruro, 'fllerdofl!, the City is seeking your support for federallcgislalion (0 provide COSI :C;l\aring. Cong(fSSlIliin Minela has: fJnnounccd his inlention 10 tarry Je8js!~lioll tQ rund San Jose's m:h11l~Hion project. The Palo Allo projoct would bo equ.lly 'pprop,j,,,, for funding. The City requests your svppon in SC'(.'Uring federal fUnding whidl would be f1\'ailable for a Palo Alto project. The allached "paper coiHains more delailed in.formation and we took forward to an opportunity 10 brlofy(>U in 100 ""or furnrc. w. will be in lou.:h with your ",rr 10 arnns" such. briefing. Thank you for your help in this important malter. . Sinc<rely, PB,kh cc: 14th Cmlgress[onal Disukt 698 r.merson S'reel Palo Ailo, CA 94301 • c' .. " \ { Palo Allo Region.1 WAler QualilY Conlrol Pl,nl Warer Reelamalion Projecr \ , . '., " . ,_u",', ~~":-':~.:-~_, __ .:~~~(¥~hC~:.:;'-_ ' Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Conlro! Planl Waler Recl,malion Projeci The Waler Reclamation Project is a subre,gional wastewater treatment and dislribulion syslem being developed for &SI Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto ,nd Stanford; the communities served by Ihe Palo Allo Regional Water Quality Control Planl (RWQCP) .. The project's purpose is to comply wilh Federally mandated water quality Slandards for San Francisco Bay, and to augment water supplies in this drougnHlrone area. On behalf of the par1ner communities, Palo Alto is completing an Environmental Impact Report (ErR) for consideration by elected officials. The EIR is based in pari upon a Water Recl.mation Master Pial] completed in July, 1992, Ihat identified polenlial reuse for approximately 4 million gallons pcr day (MGD), or approximately 20% of the now from the RWQCP. The principal reuse opportunity is landscape irrigalion, on bOlh public and private lands. The purpose of!he project is two-fold: to meet Federally mandated water quality standards in San Francisco Bay, and 10 augment limited fresh \\later supplies for the area. The U.S. EnYironmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA) has established SlandanJ, for metals and other [race t.!ontamillants in the Bay. As a re.sult of poor flushing in the extreme South Bay, the standards have not been mel and U.S. EPA has liSled Ihe area as an 'impaired water body' pursuant to Seclion 304(1) of the Clean Water ACI. The effect has been to focus national attention and compliance efforts on the three sewage treatmenl pl."ts discharging to Ihe Bay helow Ihe Dumbarton Bridge. The three plan Is are operated by Paio Alto, San Jose, and SUl1nyvale, and serve urban Sanla Clara County. The most stringenl of Ihe requirements facing Palo Alia is for copper. The amount \ , · . ~" . II (quantified as pounds per day) of copper must be reduced by conlrolling sources, ;''''reasing the level of Irealment, or diverting ~ portion of Ihe treated waler 10 reuse opportunities and avoiding discharge to Ihe Bay. Source control is being pursued in earnest, bUI is nol believed to be sufficient. Further treatmenl is extremely expensive, resource inlensive, and environ menially damaging. Thus, the City is considering wastewater reclamation and reuse as a melhod of complying wilh the Federally mandated standards. The second and equally imporlanl purpose of the project is to augmenl fresh waler supplies. Sanla Clara County is subject 10 droughl and relaled cut·backs in allocations : .. \ :'-.",; Pwjed St3hl.5. l\PPElIOIX D City of San Jose, California S,~nta Clara Valle), Water Districi Nonpolable W.ter Red.mation Demonstration Projeci Projtcl Updote --Morel" 1994 The rha~ J facility plan was completed and approved in 1993, along with the Environrnentallmpact Repor! for constTLH:tion of water .reclamation IadHties in the Colden Tl'hmgle area. A \\'orkshop was held with local water retailers and otller'agende'S In De~mber. 1993 to determine optimum pipeline aligrunents in the expanded .rea (or the purposes of fadlit)' design .nd budget development. 'I'h. f.cility pl.n lor the expanded area (I'h.sos 2 and 3) is expected to be completed in April,l99·I. In Febrv .. )', ).994 the Cily MId the District met with Congressman Norman Minet.l to ru,cus; federal funding of the project. A fUl1ding request [or the first pho,. of the project in the amount of S130 miJlion will be submitted lor inclusion in the \Vater Re50lIxces Act, wh...ich provides for a 50()/" federal malch.ing grant. ll,l? Act B: $ch!2duled lor markup during Ihe summer of this year. Another potential ","rcO 01 federal (unding (or the project is the Bureau 01 Reclamation appropriations biU, to be considered later in the session. SIt'tements of Qual..ificalion (SOQ) for projl?ct management sen'ices have been received. and a short list oE consultants will be interviewed in April, 1994. The sel~cled firm \ ... ·ilJ be responsible for de\'etoping the inshl"\ltional framework for 11onpot~blE' redam~tion, including agreements with water retailers for funding, OpeColling and maintaining the lacilitiesl and public education about the uses and benefits o( r~daim.d wat". Final design work for the I'h .. e 1 project is "peeted to begin in the summer oll99~. with consuuction scheduled to be completed in 1997. f.r.Oi~JJ2mrllllifiJl TIte San Jose Nonpotabl~ lValer Reclamation Demonstration Project is a regional prosur" to redaim up 10 37,000 acre-feet per year (ac-!t/yr) of waslewater treatmenl plant ernuenl. primarily for irrigation in the Santa Clara Valley, The project is required by the EPA to prevent conversion of endangered salt m~rsh habltat by fresh water effluent entering San Francisco Bay. lne project will also reduce the discharge of lIace Je,'el pollutants, and provide a reliable SQUIce of nonpot.ble water to ollset potable domands. Phase 1 o{the project will reuse 9,000 ae·Nyr in the fift)' square mile "'Golden Triangle" area. This phase is scheduled to be compleu,d in November, 1997 at a oost of $130 million, and will provide peak diversion of about 20 rugd. Ph.ses 2 and 3 "ill expand the distribution system w divert an additional 50 mgd at a cost o{rQughly $300 million. .'/ I --"Kl.IItC\I(J,~ «M't'1,1,1\!((Nt\,,( • ITC'.IM: ~W',1M ... ,\,w;J:am('Wl' ~ ~''Hm "",u." $l-(It\o, ..... "( .. t~ tJ!oa II.M (:( I;(fOf:O lO~tllf:(" mb:~~,~ " .'\ l\PPENOrX l\ \ !