Explained: A Primer of Local Water Projects
Curious about all the recent news regarding big public $$$ and local water? As water is quickly becoming the new gold and since our bodies are about 60% water, I think you should probably be moderately interested. The current local situation has a lot of backstory, multiple players and more moving parts than a carnival. Over the past few months, in addition to reading most of the source materials, I’ve chaired several Davis Chamber of Commerce meetings focused solely on this topic and toured the Wastewater Treatment Plant. So, in the next 1,000 words I’ve attempted to wrap up the entire situation in a concise and approachable package… my gift to you this holiday season.
Water that is, clear gold, California tea.
Glossary
Surface water – water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean.
Groundwater – water located beneath the ground surface in soil spaces and in the fractures of rock formations.
JPA – A Joint Powers Authority is an entity permitted under state law whereby one or more public authority (e.g. City government) can operate collectively.
WDCWA – The Woodland Davis Clean Water Agency is a JPA comprised of Woodland (52.1%), Davis (44.4%), and UC Davis (3.5%) with the objective of providing clean surface water to the participants by 2016.
Water rights – In California, the prior appropriation doctrine determines who has the legal right to use water. Prior appropriation is based on the principle of “first in time, first in right” thus some property owners have rights that are more “senior” than others.
What’s Wrong with Our Current Water?
I often get complaints from my guests when I serve them tap water. Personally, I drink it unfiltered and no longer notice a taste difference. I also don’t use a water softener, but I know that many folks in town load up their water with lots of salt. Our municipal drinking water comes from wells located all over town and currently, it meets all federal and state regulations for water purity.
OK, it's a little more complicated than that.
Like our neighbor Woodland, we are one of the few remaining California cities that depend solely on groundwater. Increasingly, though, we’ve been forced to close more and more of our shallow wells due to concerns about water quality and public health. Our remaining wells are constantly in need of repair and treatment for specific worrisome compounds. Also, since we share a deep aquifer with UC Davis, we’ve recently agreed to yearly limits on how much water we draw to protect the integrity of the aquifer.
About sixty years ago, our city leaders passed up the chance to join the Solano Project that built the Monticello Dam across Putah Creek, flooded the Berryessa Valley and created Lake Berryessa to provide municipal and irrigation water to the region. In retrospect, it was probably a mistake for Davis to not join that effort.
But the problem isn’t just the source of our water; a more pressing concern is what happens to our water once it leaves our homes and businesses. By 2017, Davis must comply with new state regulations regarding the quality of wastewater released into the San Joaquin Delta. Our current levels of salt, boron, and selenium are too high. After years of study, the experts agreed (pdf) changing our water source from ground wells to surface water best solved the problem. However, we must still do some major renovation work to our Wastewater Treatment Plant; these compliance renovations will be much cheaper by switching to surface water.
How We Made a Decision to Change Our Water Supply.
For the past twenty years, city leaders have been identifying, investigating and analyzing how to best create a secure clean water future for our community. During that time, innumerable public meetings have garnered a vast amount of input from elected officials, staff, subject experts and the general public. For a full time line of associated formal studies and reports (each with its own public input process), open this (pdf) and turn to pages 12-13.
On September 15th, 2009 the WDCWA was created with the purpose of creating a treated surface water supply by 2016. The WDCWA is tasked with supplementing the junior (1994) water rights of Woodland and Davis, building a regional water treatment facility and delivering the water to the borders of each city.
Since then, the Board of the WDCWA has been in negotiations with the owners of Conaway Ranch to buy water rights that will ensure we have enough water in the summer and during drought years. Those negotiations, reportedly, were unfruitful and little headway was made in the following 15 months.
In early November 2010, regional developer Angelo Tsakopolous jumpstarted the negotiations by cobbling together a series of agreements with the WDCWA, Yolo County and the State of California to enable him to exercise his option to purchase a majority share of the ownership of Conaway Ranch. Conspiracy theories abound whenever California water rights and developers coexist in even the same sentence, but as I choose to believe the best in people I’ll agree with the Sac Bee Editorial Board’s take on the situation that “there’s a chance for mutual gain and an environmental win-win with this arrangement.”
As for those who bemoan the lack of time that these agreements spent in the public sphere before our elected officials voted on them, I must admit that I’m normally a strong proponent of civic engagement and transparency in public processes. But in this instance, I’m persuaded by the very long history of the project; this outcome is exactly what we’ve been planning for 20 years. Regarding the deal specifics, I have to trust that our elected officials and their designees have done their due diligence and that, as with many business deals, deadlines can create good compromises and benefits for all parties involved.
On December 21st, the WDCWA, City of Woodland and City of Davis approved the agreements and financing to move forward with our surface water supply. All of the documents relating to these agreements can be found on the WDCWA website.
Next Steps to Get Clean Water in Our Pipes.
On January 18th, the State Water Resources Board is scheduled to finalize (pdf) our regional permit for junior water rights from the Sacramento River after 16 years of processing. Over the next 2-3 years, the State and Federal governments will also sign-off on the sale and ultimate transfer of water rights from Conaway Ranch to the WDCWA. At the last public meeting I attended, the WDCWA attorneys responded to a question about this process and indicated that there were no discernable obstacles to the success of the transfer.
In 2011, the facilities’ design and permit process will begin. From 2012 – 2014, three different series of bonds will be issued to finance the project. In 2015, construction will begin on the pipeline and water treatment facility. And sometime in 2016, you’ll be able to throw out your water softeners because clean surface water will begin flowing through your faucets.
Benefits of a Surface Water Supply.
- After 24 years of payments for water from Conaway Ranch, the WDCWA will own the senior water rights… a rare occurrence.
- Water quality will be greatly increased and we’ll be better positioned to deal with future changes in drinking water quality standards and waste water quality regulations.
- As part of the overall plan, water conservation efforts must continue to improve in order for the plan to achieve success.
- A new intake facility on the Sacramento River will kill less fish.
- The entire San Joaquin Delta will benefit from lower salinity and other pollutants with the change from groundwater to surface water discharge.
Paying for a Big Public Works Project.
All of the studies, analysis, reports and decisions that have led us this far have obviously considered cost as a major factor. As with any consumer choice, a balance must be struck between quality and value. In this case, we’re choosing to spend more money to ensure that we have a high quality and dependable product. It is important to note that historically, the residents of Davis and Woodland have paid much lower rates than the average Californian.
Recently, connection fees for new homes were increased from about $3,200 to $9,000. That money has been put aside to pay for the surface water projects. New business connection fees were also raised drastically. Over the next 8 years, water usage rates will also be increased from an average of $40 to about $80 per month per home. I know that sounds like a lot of money to some folks, especially those on pensions, but the new rates will put Davis rate payers at just about the state average. Hopefully, this investment will ensure that succeeding generations of Davisites will have affordable clean water and prove that we have been good stewards of our natural resources.
Any questions?
I’ve left out a lot of details in this description, so if you’d like to have your questions answered then I suggest that you follow my hyperlinks and do a bit of research for yourself. If you’re still unsatisfied, or unwilling to do any further research, leave a comment below or email me kemblepope (at) gmail dot com and I’ll try to answer. Did I get something wrong? Let me know! Also, if you’ve found this description helpful please forward it to family, friends and neighbors or post it to your favorite social networking site.
Very concise, thoughtful explanation, Kemble – even got to most of the acronyms-&-initialisms and made them “transparent” to us plain folk 8-)
When I went to the explanatory meeting on this issue held at Davis City Hall on Monday night I thought Stephen Souza and Joe Krovoza did a really great job vetting the matter of the water deal vis-a-vis its benefit to Davis, the tight time-frame in which the deal had to be made (e.g., after well over a year of hard work with little to show, suddenly a too-brief window in which to say ‘yes’ to the unexpected deal of life-time), and what seemed the factually mild ramifications on the environment and growth, either locally or regionally. So before I write anything more, I want to say thank you, straight up and no qualifications, to both Joe and Stephen: you guys did a great job with a difficult task, and based on what was visible above the surface of things going on elsewhere in a perfectly muddy swamp masquerading as a level playing-field, gave us your best shot to give not only the human residents of Davis now living, but all creatures great and small yet unborn, something of lasting value. For that, you’ve my sincere gratitude.
Well done Kemble. Thank you for streamlining the information in addition to providing additional resources.
I meant to read this when you first posted it, but put it off, so I appreciate the reminder on your Top Ten list. I approached it with teeth gritted as if the article were medicine, and was relieved to see in the intro that it would only last 1000 words. And painless words they were; you always explain so clearly. I appreciate your explicitly stating which parts were filtered through your own opinions; you are the Anti-glenbeck in more ways than one.