BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Memorandum of Understanding with City of Sunnyvale for Collaboration on Assessing the Feasibility of Water Reuse Alternatives.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Authorize the Interim CEO to execute the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) and the City of Sunnyvale (Sunnyvale) for Collaboration on Assessing the Feasibility of Water Reuse Alternatives.
Body
SUMMARY:
A proposed MOU has been developed with Sunnyvale to assess the feasibility and potential cost-sharing in development of potable water reuse options in Santa Clara County (County). On February 16, 2017, the Recycled Water Committee (Committee) recommended that the Board of Directors authorize the Interim CEO to execute the MOU.
Background
Since 2014, District staff has been evaluating project concepts in collaboration with Sunnyvale to produce purified water for potential potable reuse associated with the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant. The MOU describes the parties’ further commitments to identify the requirements, issues, activities, resources, costs, and funding necessary to implement potable and non-potable water reuse alternatives. Draft terms intended for incorporation in the MOU were presented to the Joint Recycled Water Committee of elected officials from Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale on September 27, 2016. Additionally, since certain project alternatives intended for study by the District and Sunnyvale may also be of interest to the City of San Jose and City of Santa Clara in the context of the South Bay Water Recycling system, draft terms were also discussed with staff from the cities of San José and Santa Clara on November 4, 2016.
The terms of the MOU cover important assumptions and considerations such as source water availability, permitting, reverse osmosis concentrate management, land requirements, and governance. During the term of the MOU, Sunnyvale will not enter into any agreement to provide treated wastewater effluent to another entity or project that could materially reduce the amount of source water available to the District without the District’s consent.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funds to conduct the feasibility assessment are included in the Water Utility Enterprise FY2017 budget, Recycled and Purified Water project 91101004. The estimated District cost for the feasibility assessment is $200,000. In addition, Sunnyvale will contribute funds to share the assessment cost for some of the project alternatives, as identified in the MOU.
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
Attachment 2: District/Sunnyvale MOU
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Garth Hall, 408-630-2750