Water problems for San Diego may boil over in the not-too-distant future as water supplies to the region face a possible 15- to 30-percent reduction starting early next year because of a federal court judge’s decision to protect the endangered delta smelt of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in the San Francisco Bay area.
As a result, City Attorney Michael Aguirre is issuing a warning that the city faces a water “crisis” that could lead to cuts in the water supply and might result in mandatory rationing.
He added that Mayor Jerry Sanders’ office has failed to develop alternatives for dealing with the problem and that water recycling programs and increased public understanding of the issues would be a good start toward addressing the problem before it gets worse.
Aguirre addressed this and other water-related issues during a press conference Sept. 17 at City Hall. Aguirre said the city needs to implement water-recycling programs, mandatory conservation and a moratorium on developments of 500 or more dwelling units if it wants stem future water-supply problems. Aguirre said that under California law, the city should not build new large developments unless it can be assured there will be sufficient water supply for the next 20 years.
He said the city should learn from past mistakes.
“We have taken our system again to the breaking point,” he said. “Just as we’ve taken the pension and retiree health-care system to the breaking point, we have taken our water system to the breaking point.”
On Aug. 31, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger ordered less water be pumped out of the state’s northern delta to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The act requires federal agencies to ensure their actions do not threaten the existence of an endangered species, according to a statement from the San Diego City Attorney’s Office.
The news spurred city officials into a public discussion about the future of San Diego’s water supply, as well as possible Point Loma wastewater plant upgrades and general water recycling.
“The delta smelt is the canary in the coal mine,” Aguirre said.
In a memo to the mayor and the City Council dated Sept. 4, Aguirre urged city officials to address water supply and wastewater treatment options. In the memo, Aguirre said the city must update its water reclamation plan every five years. The plan was last updated in 2000, according to the memo.
Aguirre also called on the City Council to implement recommendations made in the San Diego Water Department’s water reuse study. Completed in March 2006, the study examines water reuse opportunities in the region and lays out several approaches for potable and nonpotable water uses.
State law regulates water reuse programs for nonpotable uses such as fishing, swimming, boating and irrigation, according to language in the study. Regional water quality control boards issue recycled water permits and rely on health guidelines from the California Department of Health Services (DHS), according to the report.
DHS has also issued draft regulations for using recycled water, in part, as a source of domestic use, according to the report. The regulations require the control of organic and inorganic contaminants, the use of treatment methods to control pathogens and monitoring.
Aguirre has asked the City Council to approve the water reuse study.
According to Tim Bertch, director of the Metropolitan Wastewater Department, the North City Water Reclamation Plant near Interstate 805 and Miramar Road, the facility can reclaim about 30 million gallons per day and the South Bay Water Reclamation Plant can recapture about 15 million gallons a day.
“The first way we could reuse more water is to more efficiently use the North City Plant,” he said.
Bertch added, however, that the city imports about 200 million gallons of water per day and that the reclaimed water from the North City plant would only supplement other efforts. He said the cost of importing water is less than the cost it would take to recycle.
In the meantime, Sanders’ office cites cost and a lack of information as reasons not to jump into mandatory conservation and recycling plan, according to Bill Harris, the mayor’s deputy press secretary.
“We currently have adequate water supplies. We currently project adequate water supplies.” Harris said. “But there are important decisions down the road ” not the least of which is the court decision regarding the delta smelt.”
In a press conference on Sept. 13, Sanders reiterated his opposition to indirect potable-water use, or IPR, commonly referred to as the “Toilet to Tap” concept. Such a plan for the Point Loma wastewater treatment facility could range from $300 million to $4.5 billion over the course of about a decade to implement, according to a memorandum Sanders dispatched to the City Council.
“There is neither the money nor the broad public acceptance to pursue IPR at this time. Therefore, I would oppose any attempts to pursue indirect potable reuse,” Sanders said in the memorandum.
Sanders’ position on indirect potable-water reuse comes at a critical time as he waits for the results of an independent scientific review panel he commissioned earlier this year to study the environmental impacts of the Point Loma wastewater plant’s discharge into the ocean about 4.5 miles off the coast.
Harris said the mayor will use the panel’s findings and estimated cost to the ratepayers to determine whether Sanders will pursue a waiver of the Point Loma wastewater treatment plant upgrade to a secondary water-treatment process. The process would further clean the sewage effluent before being discharged.
The panel is expected to release its findings in early October. If deemed necessary, the upgrade to the Point Loma facility could cost about $1.5 billion, Bertch said.
In addition to pursuing water and wastewater reuse options, the city’s water department is expecting to receive fluoridated water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Barrett said. The city has to buy between 20 and 40 million gallons of water each day from the Robert A. Skinner treatment plant in Riverside, he said.
All purchased, treated water will have fluoride in it, Barrett said. The city has no immediate plans to fluoridate other sources of water because of lack of a sufficient treatment process, he said.
Barrett said water concerns that the city is facing could be eased by increased public awareness and voluntary conservation. Residential use accounts for 35 to 40 percent of water use, he said.
Barrett suggests that following the mayor’s 20-gallon-a-day challenge is a start.
“There’s lots of different parts to the equation and it’s really difficult right now,” Barrett said. “But if everybody can save 20 gallons, we’re there.”