Federal stimulus funds trickling into Santa Clara Valley will
increase the amount of reclaimed wastewater available to South
County farmers, landscapers and industrial users, except in Morgan
Hill.
Federal stimulus funds trickling into Santa Clara Valley will increase the amount of reclaimed wastewater available to South County farmers, landscapers and industrial users, except in Morgan Hill.
About $4.3 million granted to the Santa Clara Valley Water District will be used to continue to develop short-term and long-term aspects of its South County Recycled Water Master Plan. Specifically, the funds will help pay for about five miles of pipelines emanating from the South County Wastewater treatment facility in south Gilroy.
With the county entering its fourth consecutive year of a drought, expanding the capacity and reliability of the wastewater and recycled water system will save critical resources and preserve drinking water, according to water district officials and staff. Furthermore, it could save money for farms, golf courses and large-scale landscaping operators who use substantial volumes of water for irrigation.
“Recycled water is becoming increasingly more important to our overall water supply, especially in times of drought,” said SCVWD Director Rosemary Kamei. “The fact that we have this money coming in is a great thing, and will help us expand the use of recycled water for South County communities.”
The funds were awarded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus package which was signed by President Barack Obama in February. The local water district was awarded a total of $12.6 million for two recycled water programs. About $8.2 million will be used to improve the South Bay Advanced Recycled Water Treatment Facility, a joint effort between the water district and San Jose to treat wastewater byproducts.
Currently, recycled water service in South County is available predominantly to users in the Gilroy area, as the delivery infrastructure does not extend far beyond the treatment facility there.
However, Morgan Hill Public Works Director Jim Ashcraft said the city hopes that use of the stimulus funds will include revising or hastening the implementation of the master plan that includes the development of infrastructure to deliver treated wastewater further north to Morgan Hill.
The water district and the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy, as members of the South County Regional Wastewater Authority, drafted the recycled water master plan together in 2004.
The infrastructure improvements to be realized by the federal funds will make the current South County recycled water system more reliable, as it will be able to serve more customers and provide more water to existing customers. Now the system often operates at full capacity and is unable to meet the demand for recycled water. Adding five miles of new delivery pipelines will eventually increase the capacity for which local demand is growing, according to Hossein Ashktorab, manager of the water district’s water use efficiency unit.
“(The stimulus funds) will give us better reliability, so we won’t lose any customers,” Ashktorab said. “Recycled water may cost more, but it’s more reliable, more locally controlled, and it’s drought-proof.”
The water district currently charges $40.50 per acre foot for non-potable recycled water, among whose biggest users are farmers and golf courses. Agricultural groundwater, which is pumped directly from Santa Clara County’s natural underground aquifers – the same source of drinking water for the county’s 1.8 million residents – costs $17.50 per acre foot.
However, farmers who use groundwater say that price does not include the cost of pumping equipment, electricity, and other costs associated with delivery of the water. District staff estimate those costs add another $60 to $100 per acre foot. The cost of recycled water includes treatment and delivery through pressurized pipes.
In 2008, the SCRWA treated and sold about 2,200 acre feet of wastewater through the Gilroy facility – less than 10 percent of all water sold for agricultural uses in Santa Clara County the same year. An acre foot is enough water to serve the needs of a family of five for two years.
Morgan Hill’s Grass Farm, a turf grass producer, will use about 500 acre feet of water for irrigation this year. The farm only uses groundwater now, but Production Manager Erin Gil said he would consider using recycled water if it was available in Morgan Hill.
“We would be open to the idea,” Gil said, noting that a possible concern is the presence of heavy metals and salt that commonly appears in reclaimed water. “If they could work on an analysis of what’s coming out the other end and fine-tune it, it would be worthwhile.”
Another issue is the public perception, however inaccurate, that treated, reclaimed wastewater is still dirty and could be harmful if used to water fruit and vegetable plants. “That unknown aspect could downgrade the product in the marketplace,” Gil said.
Recycled water is treated according to “strict” standards set by the California Department of Health Services and is continuously monitored by local, state, and federal agencies, according to water district spokeswoman Susan Siravo.
The South County Recycled Water Master Plan includes not only short-term projects such as those which will be funded by the ARRA and completed in the next year. It also consists of long-term and intermediate-term projects, and a total of $28 million worth of infrastructure expenses, according to water district Engineer Pam John.
District staff predict the demand for groundwater, particularly for municipal and residential drinking purposes, to climb in South County. Increased use of recycled water could help preserve the supply of groundwater strictly for consumption purposes.
“We are looking toward the future for how we continue to meet the demands of the population,” Siravo said.
Plus, expanded recycled water service could improve the water district’s self-sufficiency. The district could rely more on local resources and reduce its use of imported water, which costs more than groundwater stored in aquifers throughout Santa Clara County, Siravo said.
The ARRA provided a total of $134.3 million to fund 27 similar projects nationwide whose purpose is to simultaneously supply communities with clean water and promote water and energy efficiency.
