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City of Palo Alto
City Manager's Report
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TO:
FROM:
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: UTILITIES
AGEHDA DATE: Oecsmber 4, 1991> CMR:489:95
SUBJECT: Approval of Meadows Water Wen Closure and S.le, and aelaying
Ifte Sale of Middlefield wan Site
REQUEST
This I8POrt requests 1I1at Council authorize staff \0 abandon !he Meadows "Ie~ sile and
!lave !he Waler Utili!)' tum !he property back \0 !he Genera! Fund. Staff wiI ret",n 10 !he
CouocI at a lale< dale with recommended uses of \he property, including a poss;ble sale
of!he land for housing. This repo<1 fu<1her requests that Council a;lpr0Ye a delay ., selling
!he Middlefield WeI site unlil a proposed weI study is compIeled.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Stan recommends fual Council:
1. Au!hotize staff \0 abandon !he Meadows WeD sile, r."'.ove !he weD, and have !toe
Waler Utirrly !urn !he property back \0 !he General Fund.
2. 0eIay sale of I.oflddTefield WeI sae and reinSlale paymen! of rental charges from !he
Waler Utility \0 !he General fund.
POLICY IMPLICAT!ONS
This action does noI represent any change \0 existing poficies.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Meadows Well Closure
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The Meadows WeI (Elthibit 1), located at 3896 Duncan Place, occupies a pie-shaped
plllcel of approximately 0.1 B acres. The s~e is zoned R-l and surrO<JOded by single
family homes. The we~ was constructed in 1956 as part of !he City's distributed waler
suppl)-and has been maintained as part of !he City's emergency waler supply since 1962.
The wafe( producIion capacity of 1I1e Meadows Wei has never been high; over !he years
Ihe water production capaci!y has been reduced by corrosion, sand entering and wearing
away Ihe we! pump housing, and earthquake damage 10 1I1e wei casing. The las!
recorded water production capacity was approximately 230 gallons per min<Jle, whic1l Is
50 pereenl below lIle intended original design wa!er yield.
The City oontnacted with Maggiora Bro!hers Drilfong, Inc. 10 irwesligale and make repairs
to !he Meaclows Web sne During 1I1e investig ation ~!he well, the contractor found 1I1e
wei pump needed major repairs or replacemenl, 1I1e pump motor needed 10 be replaced
and !he weR casing needed numerous repairs or rednlfong. These improvements, at a
cost of $450,000, would probably bring !he weD s~e to curren! CaHfomia water weD
standards eslabrlShed by !he Carrfornla Depa rtmenl of Water Resouroes. The contractor
could not provide any assurance 10 1I1e City Shat !he production <;QPaci!y of the wei would
be improved it recommended repairs were made.
Based on !he results of !he contraclor'o investigation of !he Meaclows WeD mecI1anical
oornponenrs, the h;,;tory of low water produc!ion al1l1is sfte, !he expense of refurbishing
a marginal weI one with no assurance for improved capacity or earthquake SUNival, s1aff
recommends thai the Meadows sne be closed. The Meaclows o~e W'1 not be re!tJmed 10
in !he Myre as a wei sne. The oRe is not oentnally localed and could not be economically
included in a oenlrany localed emergency wen water treatment process. Staff will relum
10 Ihe Counci at a laler date with recommended uses for !he property.
Emeroency WeD System Sluc:!y
The State Departmenl of Hea ith Service (OH$) l1as required Ihe City 10 add a treatmen!
process 10 the existing emergency groundwater pmducrlOl1 weITs, 10 meet current OHS
secondlllY health slandarels for emergency weITs. The treatment process would remove
iron and manganese from !he groundwater. Tnis OHS requirement has forced !he City
to change !he operation of Ihe exisfing emergency we~ system 10 a sla ndby weD syst .. m.
An emergency wei system immediately responds 10 a pressure loss in !he water
distribution system. by starting wens to maintain water OlStribution system supply and
pressure. A slandby system must be manually slarted by staff, aner reques~ng OHS
approval 10 use !he welL After a treatmenl process is installed, !he OHS would again
approve !he City emergency weI system 10 be p/1~'Sically connecIed 10 !he waler
distribution system, for imme<l!afe waler prcxlu<;tion during dislribution system
emergencies.
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Staff plans 10 hire an eXj)e!ienced water weD system <:fesigo COt1su~ant 10 perfocm a
feasibifrty study or !he existing City emergency wale< we. system. The consu~nt W<JUI,j
make recommendations rega-a1l19 !he Mure operations and maintenance of !toe weD
system. If!he sludy recommends an emergency weD sysfem, !he cootu~r.t, with Counci
approva~ wil design a DHS required weI waler treatment process' for emer~ncy
operations,4esigo new wens as delenmined necessary, and propose equipment changes
10 fnprove lI"oe efficiency or !he existing weW system_ The sludy wiP also include a
recommendation on !he amount or water needed from !he City wens and an analysis or
!heir CU<rent macIlanical and p/lyslcal condI!ion. Inck!cIed in !he sfudy will be an
examination of !he need for new wells, wf1ich should ~ a review of the Middlefield
Road site. The sludy, anr improvements 10 existing wells, constnJc!ion or a centraII)'
located emergency wei water Irea!menl process and !he addition or new wens will be
recommended ever a lIvee 10 four rear period t!voogh !he ClP process.
Delay Sale of Middlefield WeD S~e
The MlddTefield Road WeD site was abandooed in 1989, as authorized by !he City Counci
(Reference EJmibit 2:CMR:267:8), ckJe 10 !he poor physical condltion or !he mechan1cal
equipment at !he site. In 1990, in anlicipafoon or semng the site, I was ,ezoned from Pf
(Public Fa<:ili!y) 10 R-1 (Single Family ResiclenliaO; and a Certificale or Compliance
estabrlShing two parcels on !he site was recorded with !he CounIy of Sanla Clara. As
stated in !he Jan<Jary 1988 Report on !he Con<frtion of !he City of Palo Alto Waler WeI
System, !he Middlefield Road weI site is Iocaled roea, two oIher fa'ge waler production
wells in Ihe City system: Hale and Rinconada Wens (EJmiM 3)_ FurIIler invesfigalion of
conslruc!ing a new emergency we~ allhe M"lddIefield wei site is warranled because or !he
site's pas! production history, Ihe site's central location and proKimity 10 oIher wens thaI
will require waler treatment and !he fa nu,e of !he Meadows WeI. If the proposed
emergency water weI system study incflCales Ihal a new wei is necessary and !he
M"lddIefield WeI site is delermir.ed 10 be a good centrany 1oca!ed produclioo site, Ihen !he
Ubl~ies Oeparlrnenl will request amendment or !he Comprehensive Plan land Use Map
10 cI1ange!he s~e's designation from SIngle Family Residenfiallo Major 1ns!iMion/Speciai
Faclli!ies, rezon;ng orlhe s~efrom Single Family Residential (R-ll 10 PubriC Facirrties and
removal or !he 101 ine, and will ptJrSUe Ihe design and constnJc!ion of a new we" Ihrough
!he CIP process.
FISCAL IMPACT
Councl approval will stop alVltJal ,enlal payments from !he Waler Fund 10 the General
Fund in !he amount or $20,000 for !he Mea<:Iows Weg site and slart amual rental
payments from !he Waler Fund 10 !he General Fund in !he amount or $70,000 ($35,000
per IoQ for Ihe M"oddlefield site.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
This action does not coostitufe a project uncIer !he CarJforrna Environmental Ouarrty Ad:,
!herefore, an Environmental Assessment is not required.
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ExI1ibt 1 -Meadows Wal SlIe location -Co\InIy Assessor Map
ExhIll 2 -CMR:267;8
Exhibit 3 -Wale< FaaTJtieS SlIe loca!ions And Pressure Zones
PREPARED BY; CHARlES BORG aoo ROGER CNW<
CITY MANAGER APPRCNAJ..;
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MEADOWS WElL SITE
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May U. l~S8
THE ~ OftGIUSlE C J TY CGnHCI L
,,10 lIto. C.,iforof.
Attention: Finance and '"blfe Work.
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EXHIBIT Z
R~port oa t~e Condition of t~. Citv of fa'o Alt. W.ter Vell S st.~ -
eques~ ~ pprova e eeommen atlon5
~_rs of t~e Council:
TOis Report on t~e Condltfan of the f.l0 Alto V.ter Vell System
reviews t~e Idequa~ of the City·s ten tX1sttng stand-by wells. makes
reCOft1rendatfOfl.5 for the flDprove~Rts to !;x well sites {Fiale.
lin~nlda. PeeTS. ~adow$~ ~t~dero and Fer~andol and the &bando~ment
and iisposttfon of ttle "Rilling fau," wll sites {IIIid!flefi'eld. Sealt.
Tower and Part BouleQ'l"1!) ..
Bat.lqrQund
1. or~r to ~e effectiyelJ utilize a~aila~'e Water Utility
factlitfes. Capit.' and Operation! end ~ai~ter.anee (O~) funds. and
City ~at~T Vel' properties. I 5tU~ cf t~e City·s well system ~~s
conducted by staff aoe! a Report 00 the COndition of the City of Pil0
Jlto Water Ven Sl'su1l • ..:includi"~ th~ [xecutive SlJT!'r.ary. was Pf'epared
and is attached. The Water-Utility fs currtntly ~1Dtafnf~g te~
vel's il the Cfty's ~~~r ~'5tribution system for stand-by capacity.
These tea wells ~ere csed from 1915 to 1938 to supply the entire ~ater
dell'i!nd for t'fle .c'ty. Fror' 1938'to 1952. tr.e City 'Wells "IIere u~rl' h!
-combination with wate:"s de1ivered thP"'OU9h the Retc'h-Retcny 5}stel2l to
supply wattr for ,the",CitY·s needs. S1nce 1962'. t.l1e C'tty Clf Palo "'to
has used princfp,'1y Retch-netchy water. ~o wells ~aYe been used on a
lon.;;-ten' continuous b'asis sirH:e 1962. Ouring: the tvo'week 1976 San
francfsce Vater Oeplrt~nt·strfke. the City·s wells ~eP"'e used to
supplea:elrt water 'IlI":-t.ni!" -tit,.' $ dtst,.i but ion syst em. T~ ... e11 s t'la ve
;also 'fleen VS!~ to,·,.eplace Hetch-Retcby wa-ter durirlg t'he tit,·::;. annual
Vater Pith Flus~i~, PrD_jec~._
-These former producti iX! -we 1 1 5 --fla vt been on rtand-l'ly, '.capacltj
a~prQ~imately t~irty years and the~r p~ysical condition "'as
c!eteriorate". The Y!l1 Stuc1y_consfders t'fu! eristfr~9 condition and
capacit.y of eacl!. well. In addition-. it' exami'nes t~e service aTea
~emand ~t by the ~e'l s1ste~, e!,~ well~s water quality, pote~tlal
for grour\Mter pol hation hi eac" well and pli!nning and 2:or'ling issues
for e-aell w-H site. [very well was then rated i. three mail!
CMR:261:B
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categol"f .. ; [rn.r~ncy nse, \tater QU3Hty O"d land Us •• "-Res.'ts of the
.o"'ie'ra'1 'Well rankin, Il"'e s1l-own 1ft the re",ort's e'JIecL!tive sumrrary.
Studies s~ ... thlt the te .... 11. a.,... !lot r~u;r.ci t-o sUPP'Y ... t~;' to
noet the City', basic emtr9"nC1 need.. The w.l1 .ites recommended for
retention and f~ov~ment can .ore t~an adequately weet the City's
emerg!ncy water reQu'rrments. ~e rtport rteO~nd5 abandonin~ four
wells Olfddl.fhl'. S .. le. Too.r and Pirt Boul ... ,.,d) and upgr.dln; and
~frtaflfD~ four Yells [Rale, Rf"conada. Peers and ~eadowsl~ It .'so
r.co .... nd. c.ml. fmpro'<e ... nts t. the two other wells !Mat.dero and
r~rnendb}. after w~fc_ additional ,,,'.atlon of thefr wat.r qualIty
lrlll be done. Bose. upon Ufs .,,'uatlon ..... ,,,,,,,,,,ndatlon would !Ie
" .. de to C"Drttfnue .irrtl1IfDg-these twD weHs Or' t~ abandon thent..
rinanci.l r.for .. tlon
If the Cou.cll accepts the ~port on t~. Con~ft'o. of the Cfty of PaTo
Aao Vater liell 51'st •• a.~ its ... commend.tions, t~e Cfty', liater
Utility would oith"t.'y sa ... appronrnateiy SI15.500 .nnually in rent
darges p.ft to tfle general povernment and .if~!".t. the fott ....
I'IIlfrrtl!naT'lcl!! cO,rt of the sfus retllO~cf fr~ the dfrtrfbution system ..
-The proposed fl 1988-93 Capital Improvement Progra .. f.eludes a project
entitled lIell Sft.s Rehabilitation. 1 total of SlO9,ooo (S53,ooo f.
fY 1988-89 Ind $56,000 II fl 1989-90) fs proposed lrlt~ no 'ondfmq
currently shOWll h the ..... 1.1n9 three y •• rs of the tIP. Tfte fUn cis
proposed· win be ••• d to perf""" detailod englneerin~ aMiysls of
f~rove ... nts ... quire( o. the sfa wells that win ro""!' opor.~'onal
lnd to !Jegfo the ebandc<1 .... t aM dispos!tion of the foU<" other .. en ••
Additional funds will be st._ to .ert Y .... ·s tIP O<\ce "etaned cost
estlmates lre lvailable.
aec ... ,.",datlon
Staff reco~nds that ~un,ll:
1. /.pprov. the Report en t"" Cnnttition.of the City ef Palo Alto
Water Well Syite_; a~d
2.. Aut~Of'jze Staff to proc~d' wit" the ncomnendat1nns -of the
Report en the Condition of t~. City of P"o .'to Wat.r Well
System.
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.IC~,IJU) l. YOUNG' V
Director of Utilities
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T"S, report.
revi ews t.he
report. .a,aJces
~ (Of'" t:he
.it .....
EXECUTIVE ~
Well
tole 1 is.
on Tne Condition of ~.lo Al~o Water
eQequ.cy of ~~e City· .. 10 existing
recommendations for imprcv~ent$ to six ~ell
.b.~onment and ~i5PQsition of the re=.ining
Sy~tem
This
$ites
four
The ~tudy use-d the 1983-~ .. f1 .. I1ontgomery W.ter Syste. Re-pc.rt. the
lH5-19'9S W~ter" Utilit:y f'l&1'1 t Utility C .. ~al""tll'lent lIoIi!.ter well
r~ords, ~e~ion~l w~ter Qu.lity Control ~.rd Re~ts. u .. s.
Seol09ic::al Survey Sel.m:lc .Reports, California DeFl.v-tllll!'l"'It o~
He.lt~ Services recommend.tions &n~ Site Apyrai~ .. l data from the
Cit.y·. F:eal Estate Deportment to evallJate .end rank t"e Palo .Allo
N!!11 Syste-m.. The we) 1 sites we"'~ eval1.!ate-cS .nod ranl<:e-d" on ~
EmerQe~y Usefuln~5s! W.ter Qyality .~ Land ~e criteria.
This study only consi~ers the u~e of t~e ~e~e~t well ~Y5t~~ to
IfttHl't t"e b.!5il: emer'"l;ef'lCy needs of thl!' .F".alo Alto re5idents ~f S
9.J1cns per day duri~ en e:treme emergen~y where the City W~tEr
~ility would be cut off from t~e ~Et~h-Het~hy ~Y5tem~
As a result of this st.I.I-d". the-.followil'l-g f"et::C'CMIEndioti~5 are
Ift.ad"e:
•••••••••••••••••• ~ •••••••••••••• '.I.i ••• f •••••••• t ••• ,.tt •••••••• ~., •••••• '.1
WELL _. OVERALL YELL Silt REta~r.E~DAT10HS
SITE ~A~KIN6!
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Fi.l e l " .. iDtd!lo ,and' .. ul LlP9~r-aquihrJ.
i:i.cll .... ~Ii. 2 "ollf.t.l'l cells-tract eqlilli,aeDt !"I\[.lcsure
'firS '.ari:
"e,dcw,
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"il5dhfi.t I
Suh
PlahhrCl
Ft!ra.nd'o
Tc_er
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"I\~ tDnn~ctico to ~tcr. dr&i_ an RD~lias ,~~.
~.i.t.i •• CD~stract ~Dn~.ctiD~S tl ~ater
... 1_ Ind ~tDra tc. culw!Tt CQ f.rk ilY~.
~.iflt,i., id1 !.trgeacy po_er , r!p.ir-c~~jn;,
i~st.ll Cislo; ,lug And' rlplace ~lte f!nci~g
hl .. S! rqull'ul'lt. sul uJ ull , a.bil~dQ'" ~lte
S .. lugt f~liiJl.ect. ~ul 1:., 11211 , "bind"on s!..tl!
SiI"g, !'quipuat, sul I:Ip Iffil .. i~anQI)I\ !ltE
S ... t IOM~r a~uif~rs. eVil lite .atf~ ~~'lkty~
if ~.tfr ~uilit, loe!.-t i.~rgye, $~1~~9!
I~uip.~nt, ~.Il LIP .el1 .nd ~bi"6Qn sitE
Stal hMfr 1G.~ilfrs. l"fihlJ!e lIit .. r qu.1it~.
if w.ttr ~~iilit! tot!sn-t i_;rcvf. ~1!Yig~
Iq~ip.!'~t. ~fil up ~ell .n~ .bin~cn lite
S .. l •• ;~ .quil!~!nt. s!.l up allt , .bin~~n sit!
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( EXHBIT 3
WATER FACUJTY SITE LOCATIONS
AND PRESSURE· ZONES
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