The City of Santa Rosa has adopted the following statement of Purpose and Need for the Incremental Recycled Water Program.

PURPOSE AND NEED STATEMENT

Need for the Program

The Program is necessary to provide treatment, recycling, and/or disposal of the wastewater generated by the Subregional Reclamation System members in a manner that is reliable and in compliance with regulatory requirements. The volume of water the Program must treat and dispose/reuse is based on population in the Subregional Reclamation System service area, and population will grow consistent with the General Plans (in effect as of March, 2002) of the Subregional members through approximately the year 2020.

Current Wastewater Management System

The Laguna Subregional Reclamation Facility (Laguna Plant) provides tertiary treatment of wastewater collected from the cities of Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Sebastopol, and from the South Park County Sanitation District (Subregional members). The Laguna Plant also treats septic waste from most of Sonoma County as well as a small amount of leachate from the County landfill. The Laguna Plant is currently permitted by the Regional Water Quality Control Board to treat 19.2 million gallons per day (mgd) (average dry weather flow) and, with the completion of the Geysers Recharge Project, will be permitted to treat up to 21.34 mgd (average dry weather flow).

When the Geysers Recharge Project is operating, the Subregional System, will utilize a combination of reuse, Geysers recharge, and river discharge for disposal of the reclaimed water. A distribution system currently carries recycled water from the Laguna Plant for golf course irrigation, urban landscape irrigation, and agricultural irrigation on about 6,700 acres of land located primarily in the Santa Rosa Plain. The City of Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities and City Council adopted it's Agricultural and Urban Reclaimed Water Reuse Program in 1999, which describes the existing program and establishes criteria for review of proposed reuse projects that would expand the existing reuse system. A portion of the recycled water is also used for the management of small created wetland areas. In addition, a distribution system will carry 11 mgd to the Geysers area northeast of Healdsburg, where the recycled water will be used to recharge the steamfields and generate electricity. The Subregional System is supported by storage facilities that hold approximately 1,600 million gallons of recycled water until it can be reused or discharged. During the October 1st to May 14th discharge season, reclaimed water from the Laguna Plant that is not reused will be discharged to the Laguna de Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa Creek, which flow into the Russian River approximately 10 miles north of the Laguna Plant.

The Problem

The Incremental Recycled Water Program will need to provide for reliable treatment, recycling, and disposal of the wastewater volume from population anticipated in the new General Plans (in effect at the outset of this analysis in March, 2002) of the communities making up the Subregional Reclamation System. Also, regulatory requirements applicable to reclaimed water discharge into the Russian River and its tributaries have increased since the Geysers Recharge Project was selected, and additional regulatory requirements are anticipated. Treatment and disposal/reuse capacity is not available to accommodate the General Plan population growth in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Program Objectives

Primary Program Objectives

• Provide wastewater treatment, recycling, and disposal for the Santa Rosa Subregional Reclamation System to accommodate projected growth as indicated in the adopted General Plans in effect as of March 2002 of each of the Subregional members;
• Develop and operate the wastewater treatment and disposal system in ways that protect public health and safety, protect natural resources including the Russian River and its tributaries, promote use of recycled water, meet current regulatory requirements, and provide flexibility to meet future regulatory requirements.
• Maintain a system and system components that can continue to be successfully financed and that are economically feasible.

Supporting Program Objectives

The supporting objectives are intended to further define the primary Program objectives and to provide guidance in the development, evaluation, and selection of Program alternatives.

• Maximize use of recycled water;
• Maximize reuse opportunities where recycled water will increase the availability of potable water supplies;
• Dispose of reclaimed water in a manner that protects beneficial uses of receiving waters;
• Optimize water conservation;
• Maintain the level of weather-independence (as defined by RWQCB policy) that is provided by the addition of the Geysers Recharge Project to the Subregional Reclamation System;
• Maximize use of existing infrastructure;
• Maintain a disposal system that is manageable and reliable;
• Provide flexibility to accommodate use of recycled water made available by neighboring agencies as deemed appropriate by the City of Santa Rosa.

Purpose of the Program

The Program objectives provide guidance for achieving the Program's purpose: treatment, reuse and disposal of wastewater in a reliable, practicable manner that provides the best use of water resources, while protecting public health and the environment. Thus, the City's purpose for the Program is not only to dispose of recycled water, but to do so in a manner that maximizes reuse opportunities particularly where recycled water will increase the availability of potable water supplies. Although the need for the Program is driven by disposal requirements, Program elements that provide conservation, reuse, or recycling of water resources are necessary to serve the overall purpose and need of the Program.