Frequently Asked Questions about the Pure Water Soquel Project

Transcription

1 Frequently Asked Questions about the Pure Water Soquel Project 1. What is the Pure Water Soquel Project and why is it needed? Pure Water Soquel is a groundwater replenishment project being explored by the Soquel Creek Water District (District). This project would add purified recycled water from the Santa Cruz Wastewater Treatment Facility (SC WWTF) to the local underground water basin to replenish the basin, restore protective groundwater levels, and prevent seawater intrusion/contamination from moving farther inland. Before being added to the groundwater basin via recharge wells, the water would be further cleaned through a multi-barrier advanced water purification process. The project is an example of the beneficial reuse of treated secondary disinfected effluent that is otherwise discharged out to the Pacific Ocean. The local groundwater basin the sole source of water for the District s customers is critically overdrafted, and the State of California has mandated that groundwater basins be sustainable by In conjunction with water conservation and proactive groundwater management, an additional source of water is needed for environmental protection as well as to meet current and future water demands. 2. Why is the project called Pure Water Soquel? The term Pure Water illustrates the high level of treatment including the latest reverse osmosis processes as well as the purified water that results. The District Board approved the name Pure Water Soquel from a list of over 80 different suggested project names. Other communities that are evaluating or implementing recycled purified water projects in California are also using Pure Water in their name, such as PureWater Monterey and PureWater San Diego. 3. What notification and outreach did Soquel Creek Water District do about the project? In April 2015, the District announced in its quarterly newsletter that it would be conducting a feasibility study to evaluate a water supply project that would purify wastewater to recharge the overdrafted groundwater basin. The newsletter What s On Tap is distributed to all of our District water customers. Over the ensuing 22 months to date, project updates and information have been included in the District s newsletters and monthly blasts, articles and coverage in the Aptos- Times, Capitola-Soquel Times, and the Santa Cruz Sentinel, and on the District s Facebook page and website. When the proposed project s environmental review process was initiated, the District worked to inform the community, distributing a great deal of information throughout its service area: Nearly 7,000 postcards were mailed to adjacent property owners/occupants s were sent to over 7,000 District subscribers p.1 - Date: 2/24/2017

2 Newspaper advertisements were run in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Aptos Times, and Capitola- Soquel Times Information was posted on social media sites (Facebook and Next Door) Two informational meetings were held on December 7, 2016 at Twin Lakes Church Met with small groups of neighbors that requested Q/A on the Pure Water Soquel Project We continue to share updates on our evaluation and exploration of the project through our website, newsletters, and updates. Also, if neighborhood groups, businesses, clubs/organizations would like staff to give a presentation and have Q/A, we welcome that as well. 4. What are the two treatment options that the District is considering to recycle and purify the water that would be used to recharge the groundwater basins? The District is currently considering two treatment options, depending on how the source water is obtained: If source water is secondary or tertiary treated effluent from the Santa Cruz Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF), the treatment process would be advanced water purification (AWP). AWP includes microfiltration, reverse osmosis, UV, and advanced oxidation. If source water is untreated/raw wastewater, the treatment process would be a membrane bio-reactor (MBR) plus AWP. The MBR process combines membranes with biological process to produce tertiary effluent. That treatment would then be followed by AWP. Once the source water is secured, the District can narrow-in on the treatment process (see FAQ #5 below). 5. If the District can secure a source water agreement from the City of Santa Cruz for treated effluent from the WWTF, will the District remove untreated, raw wastewater as an option? The District s Board of Directors has asked District staff to bring a draft source water agreement for treated effluent to the March 7 Board meeting for consideration. The Board has gone on record stating that the District will consider focusing solely on the advanced water purification facility (AWP) option when a source water agreement is finalized and executed; thus removing the option for using raw wastewater as the source water. The District recognizes that the MBR + AWP process using untreated/raw wastewater is not favored by neighbors. Further, it would cost about $10 million more to implement compared to just an AWP facility. The CEQA process requires that the District consider various viable options and that is why it has been reviewing both options carefully thus far. p.2 - Date: 2/24/2017

3 6. Is an Advanced Water Purification (AWP) Facility a wastewater treatment plant? No. An AWP facility is a water purification facility, not a wastewater treatment plant. It provides further treatment to purify water to drinking water standards which has previously gone through secondary or tertiary treatment elsewhere. 7. Will an AWP facility have the same odors that are noticeable by Nob Hill and CVS in Capitola? No. The facility in that location is a sewer lift station that moves untreated raw wastewater from the Capitola area toward Pleasure Point it is not a water purification facility as described above. Lift stations can often have an odor because they are not a closed-pipe system; rather, the wastewater flows into a secure wet-well which is open to the atmosphere, before being pumped into a higher elevation system. 8. How can the District consider building a municipal water treatment plant if the property is zoned residential? The State of California considers the production of water and power important and vital components for communities. Thus, facilities that are related to the production, generation, storage, treatment, or transmission of water supplies (such as an AWP facility) or for the production or generation of electrical energy are exempt from local building and zoning ordinances under California Government Code Section The PG&E Substation property at the corner of Capitola Avenue/Soquel Drive is zoned residential (R-1-6). 9. The Notice of Preparation/Initial Study that was prepared for the District stated that this project may have a significant effect on the environment and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) must be prepared. What does this mean? The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process requires an Initial Study to determine if the project has the potential to cause a significant effect on the environment (also see FAQ #10 below). When the Initial Study done by the Lead Agency (in this case the District) shows that such potential exists, an EIR must be prepared. The EIR informs decision-makers and the general public of any potentially significant effects of a project, identifies possible ways to minimize the potential significant effects (through mitigation), and describe reasonable alternatives to the project. Preparation of an EIR does not necessarily mean that the project, with mitigation applied, will have a significant impact on the environment, nor does it mean that the Lead Agency has made a decision regarding whether to approve or build a project. 10. What impacts will the EIR evaluate? The Pure Water Soquel EIR will consider the project s potential to cause any significant effects on the environment. Under CEQA, a significant effect means a substantial, or potentially substantial, adverse change in any of the physical conditions within the area affected by the project, including p.3 - Date: 2/24/2017

4 land, air, water, minerals, flora, fauna, ambient noise, and objects of historic or aesthetic significance (CEQA Guidelines Section 15382). In addition to these topics, the Pure Water Soquel EIR will also consider the project s potential effects related to greenhouse gas emissions, population growth, hazards and hazardous materials, public services, utilities and service systems, geology and soils, groundwater, recreation, and energy use. 11. When will the EIR be completed and ready for public review and comment? The Draft EIR is currently being prepared and is expected to be released for public review and comment in summer Are there advanced water purification (AWP) facilities currently in operation? Yes, a great example of AWP in California is at the Orange County Water District. Their state-of-theart system purifies treated wastewater using a three-step advanced treatment process consisting of microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide. The process produces high-quality water that meets or exceeds all state and federal drinking water standards. A significant portion of the AWP-treated water is pumped into recharge wells, helping to create a seawater intrusion barrier. Even more is pumped daily to percolation basins where it filters into the groundwater basin to increase the local drinking water supply. Similar projects are in are in various stages of evaluation in Monterey, Santa Clara County, and numerous other locations in California. 13. Is the District looking at other locations to build the water purification facility? Yes. District staff has been evaluating potential options for locating the water purification facility, understanding that the location is of significant concern to neighbors and others. Updated information on the facility s possible location will be presented to the Board at their March 7 meeting. 14. Is the District conducting any water quality studies, especially to address Constituents of Emerging Concern (CECs)? Yes. CECs is a term used to include a broad range of unregulated chemical components which may be found at minimal trace levels in many water supplies, including surface water, drinking water, wastewater, and recycled water. As part of the District s evaluation of water reuse, the Board has requested a detailed evaluation of CECs in both treated effluent from the wastewater treatment facility and advanced purified water. A technical expert, third-party panel convened by the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) will be peer reviewing this study and reviewing the sampling plan and results which will include testing for regulated contaminants, unregulated contaminants, and CECs. Water will be collected from the Santa Cruz WWTF and then sent to Stanford University to be processed at a benchtop AWP p.4 - Date: 2/24/2017

5 treatment system to analyze water quality and CECs presence and removal. This study will be conducted in March June 2017 and the results will be shared with the Board and public. In addition, the Water Resources Control Board has concluded that it is feasible to develop and adopt regulations for using recycled water directly as drinking water, provided certain research and key knowledge gaps are addressed, these include continued studies on CECs. 15. Is the District looking into other water supply options, such as river water, from the City of Santa Cruz? Yes. Staff is currently carrying forward three potential water supply options to address the groundwater shortage issue. In addition to the Pure Water Soquel project, the District is working with the City of Santa Cruz on evaluating a transfer of excess winter water, when available, to the District. The District is also open to receiving desalinated water from Deep Water Desal, a private company developing a desalination facility in Moss Landing. All three projects have benefits and limitations and are in differing stages of evaluation and development which is why the District has not yet made a decision on selecting a project. It s possible that Pure Water Soquel and river water transfers may both be implemented to address region-wide issues that include not only groundwater overdraft/seawater intrusion but also drought shortfalls, reliability, timeliness, climate change, and basin-wide sustainability. 16. How can I receive up-to-date information? The District sends out a monthly update on current events and information related to the District s activities and business. To sign up, go to: Contact information: Melanie Mow Schumacher, Associate Manager- Special Projects x153, melanies@soquelcreekwater.org p.5 - Date: 2/24/2017