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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExplanationStaff Recommendation Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the City of National City supporting the development of a Regional Water Reuse Plan and direct staff to work with the San Diego Metropolitan Joint Powers Authority (Metro/JPA) on this plan to ensure the continued wastewater treatment at the lowest possible rate. Explanation The Metropolitan Wastewater Joint Powers Authority (Metro/JPA) was established as a legal entity that could more effectively address regional wastewater issues with the City of San Diego and its Public Utilities Department. The City of San Diego maintains a 65% stake in the operations and maintenance required to transport and treat wastewater in the region while the participating agencies share a 35% stake in the system. National City is one of the participating agencies in the Metro/JPA and is responsible for a percentage of the costs for operations, maintenance, capital improvement programs and wastewater treatment. On July 2, 2013 Council received a presentation from Greg Humora and Leah Browder on behalf of the Metro/JPA to initiate discussion on important of the Regional Water Reuse Plan and how it relates to the continued operation of the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP), which is currently permitted to treat and discharge up to 240 million gallons a day (MGD) of advanced primary effluent out of the Point Loma ocean outfall. The PLWTP currently serves as the primary wastewater treatment facility for the City of San Diego and 12 additional participating agencies members throughout San Diego County. The City of San Diego operates and maintains the wastewater treatment facilities with the Metro/JPA participating agencies sharing in the cost at a proportional level based on their contribution to the system. The purpose for initiating this discussion is to gain support from all the participating agencies in the Metro/JPA for a solution to the long term wastewater treatment needs in our region. The PLWTP currently operates under a 5-year permit waver from the Clean Water Act to allow for the treatment and discharge of effluent from an advanced primary wastewater treatment facility. Without this waver from the Clean Water Act the PLWTP would need to upgrade to a secondary treatment facility at an estimated cost of $3.5 billion dollar capital and financing expense and $44 million annual operation cost. The current modified permit for the PLWTP expires on July 31, 2015 and the effort to successfully secure another 5-year permit waver from the Clean Water Act will need broad support from the agencies in the Metro/JPA, environmental community, and regulatory agencies. In preparation for the efforts to secure the next 5-year permit waiver for the PLWTP, the Metro/JPA Commission has asked each participating agency provide a supporting resolution for the concept of a Regional Water Reuse Plan that would offload flow of wastewater for beneficial reuse as a potable water supply. The Metro/JPA believes that if the region collectively moves forward with a Water Reuse Plan then the PLWTP should be able to operate as a smaller advanced primary treatment facility that can meet the wastewater treatment needs of the region and continue to protect the ocean environment. Upgrading the PLWTP to a secondary treatment facility is a significant and costly effort that may be unnecessary if the PLWTP can demonstrate it can meet a secondary equivalency standard by operating the existing facility using Tess wastewater flow. The City of San Diego must apply for a new permit or modified permit every five years for the PLWTP. This condition for a modified 5-year permit is the result of the 1994 federal Ocean Pollution Reduction Act (OPRA), which allows a special exemption for the City of San Diego from the Clean Water Act. Since 1994 the City of San Diego has applied for and received three consecutive modified permits for the PLWTP however, in order to gain support from the local environmental community and regulators for the modified permit, the City has agreed to complete a number of studies and projects as conditions for each permit. The first modified permit approved in 1994 required the construction of 45 MGD of reclaimed water capacity. This resulted in the construction of the North City Water Reclamation Plant, the South Bay Water Reclamation Plant in the Tijuana River Valley, and the South Bay Ocean Outfall. The second permit required the City to refine the cost estimates to convert the PLWTP to secondary and significantly enhanced the ocean monitoring program for the Point Loma ocean outfall. The results from these studies lead to the question of the cost effectiveness of spending billions of dollars to upgrade the PLWTP to secondary for the marginal benefit it will have on the coastal ecosystem. The third and current modified permit approved in 2010 required the City of San Diego to conduct studies and projects to optimize water reuse from the PLVVTP. This resulted in the Recycled Water Study that outlined a concept to offload up to 100 MGD of flow from the PLVVTP by combining additional secondary treatment in the South Bay with the implementation of recycled potable reuse projects for San Vicente and Otay Reservoirs. The City of San Diego also implemented a Water Purification Demonstration Project for San Vicente Reservoir to demonstrate the feasibility of indirect potable reuse. The City of San Diego is now about to start the process of applying for their fourth modified permit which is due no later than January 2015. Previous studies have shown that it is not cost effective to upgrade the PLVVTP to secondary. In addition, if the PLWTP can offload approximately 100 MGD of wastewater for other use or treatment then the Point Loma facility would effectively be meeting the secondary water quality treatment standards for the current 240 MGD permitted wastewater plant. The ultimate goal from the Metro/JPA would be to get the support by the environmental and regulatory community for a Regional Water Reuse Plan so that a new and local water supply is created by offloading flow at PLWTP. The Metro/JPA would then advocate for a legislative change of OPRA for the permanent acceptance of the PLWTP as a smaller advanced primary facility that meets the secondary equivalency standards for a 240 MGD plant.