BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Countywide Water Reuse Master Plan Update.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. That the District Board and Sunnyvale City Council receive information on the Countywide Water Reuse Master Plan;
B. That the District Board direct its staff to continue its commitment to meaningful engagement with the City of Sunnyvale in pursuit of new and innovative partnership opportunities for the continued expansion of water reuse in Santa Clara County; and
C. That the Sunnyvale City Council direct its staff to continue its commitment to meaningful engagement with the Santa Clara Valley Water District in pursuit of new and innovative partnership opportunities for the continued expansion of water reuse in Santa Clara County.
Body
SUMMARY:
This agenda memorandum provides an overview of the conceptual alternatives developed for the District’s Countywide Water Reuse Master Plan (Master Plan).
The Master Plan aims to improve water supply reliability through water reuse for Santa Clara County (County) in collaboration with recycled water producers, wholesalers, retailers, users, and other interested parties. The Master Plan will identify: the volume of water available for potential potable reuse (PR) development and non-potable reuse (NPR) expansion; the optimal allocation between PR and NPR; options for system integration; recommendations for building upon NPR projects; potential new PR projects; and proposals for governance model alternatives including roles and responsibilities.
The District is conducting robust engagement across various interest groups and levels, including Partner Agencies, policymakers, stakeholders, industry experts, regulators, business interests, environmental groups and the public. Partner Agencies include the four NPR producers in the County: City of Palo Alto/City of Mountain View Recycled Water System, City of Sunnyvale Recycled Water System, City of San José/City of Santa Clara South Bay Water Recycling (SBWR) and South County Regional Wastewater Authority (SCRWA).
Conceptual Alternatives
The process used to develop conceptual alternatives for the Master Plan included developing guiding principles with stakeholders, identifying project elements, and grouping elements into conceptual alternatives. The District identified 18 potential project elements for consideration.
Based on Partner Agency input, the District combined the 18 potential project elements into five conceptual alternatives for evaluation. Alternatives include a mix of potential project elements, including some previously proposed projects (from recycled water master plans) and some new elements.
Next Steps
Leading up to completion of the Master Plan, the feasible alternatives will be further refined with hydraulic modeling, cost analysis, and preliminary engineering (10% design). Other factors such as energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions will be considered to further evaluate the feasible alternatives and select a single recommended alternative. Each potential Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF) identified will require Reverse Osmosis concentrate management. These options will be further analyzed in the District’s Reverse Osmosis Concentrate Management Plan, which is being developed in parallel with the Master Plan.
The feasible alternatives all involve project elements that require new or extended agreements to address issues such as ownership and operations of a joint AWPF. The District is collaborating with Partner Agencies to develop long term agreements for potential expansion of water reuse facilities.
The Feasible Project Alternatives Technical Memorandum is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2019. Additional input from stakeholders and Partner Agencies will be considered when selecting the recommended alternative. Additional meetings of the Stakeholder Task Force and Project Partner Group are planned for early 2019. The final Master Plan is anticipated to be completed in 2019.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with this item.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have a potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: PowerPoint
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Jerry De La Piedra, District Assistant Operating Officer, 408-630-2257