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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989/10/10 - Minutes - Joint (Chino Basin Municipal Water District) October 10, 1989 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Joint Meeting Joint Meeting of the City Council and the Chino Basin Municipal Water District A. CM.J~ TO ORDER A joint meeting of the City Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga and the Chino Basin Municipal Water District met on Tuesday, October 10, 1989, at the Lions Park Community Center, 9161 Base Line Road, Rancho Cucamonga, California. The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Mayor Dennis L. Stout. Present were Councilmembers: William J. Alexander, Deborah N. Brown, Charles J. Buquet II, and Mayor Dennis L. Stout. Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; Linda D. Daniels, Deputy City Manager; Jerry B. Fulwood, Deputy City Manager; Rick Gomez, Community Development Director; Joe Schultz, Community Services Manager; Diane O'Neal, Administrative Analyst; Susan Mickey, Administrative Aide; and Jan Sutton, Deputy City Clerk. Present from Chino Basin Municipal Water District (CBMWD) was the Board of Directors consisting of: Dwight French, President (arrived 7:20 p.m.); Anne Dunihue, Director; Bud Girard, Director; and John Anderson, Secretary-Treasurer. Also present from CBMWDwere Tom Homan, General Manager; and Doug Drury, Manager of Operations. Absent was Councilmember: Pamela J. Wright. Absent was Board member George Borba. Tom Homan, General Manager, introduced the members of the Board of Directors and explained the different areas they covered. B. ITEMS OF DISCUSSION B1. Overview of District Operations. (1204-00 WATER) (1) City Council Minutes October 10, 1989 Page 2 Tom Homan, General Manager stated CBMWD serves the west end of the county, consisting of Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Montclair, Chino, Chino Hills and the Agricultural Preserve. The District was formed in 1950, and covers approximately 250 square miles in the west end of San Bernardino County, servicing a population of 500,000, and is governed by an elected Board of five members. He stated their current budget is $98 million, which consists mostly of capital improvements. The four major areas they deal in are as wholesale water agency for imported water, operating a non-reclaimable waste system, regional sewage treatment/reclamation system, and their groundwater basin management. He explained their feeder system through the area, and how as a member of the Metropolitan Water District they are allowed to purchase imported water from the Colorado River. He stated that their program as wholesale operator to local companies (i.e., Cucamonga County Water District) is funded through user fees and does not rely on taxes to support the system. He stated their non-reclaimable waste program was started in the mid-60's to service industries that could not discharge their wastes into the ground. They built the system through a bond issue, then brought it into the Los Angeles and Orange County waste systems for disposal. Their capacity for the Los Angeles Sanitation District is 16 million gallons, and 2-1/2 million gallons for the Orange County Sanitation District. They currently have approximately 40 industries connected to their system, which are serviced either by direct connection to a pipeline, or by trucking their wastes to a designated site. He explained that the groundwater basin is in the upper watershed area with distribution through the Santa Ana River, which delivers approximately 25% of Orange County's water supply. In 1960, Orange County became concerned about development in the upper watershed area and how that would affect their water supply and filed a lawsuit against all of the users in the upper watershed area. CBMWD, San Bernardino Water District, and Western Municipal Water District intervened on behalf of the producers in that lawsuit and agreed upon a settlement that these three agencies would guarantee to discharge 44,000 acre feet to Orange County. CBMWD's share of that is 17,000 acre feet. CBMWD then negotiated to purchase the sewage treatment plants in the west end so that title to the reclaimed waste water could be made to meet that obligation. The District assumed ownership responsibility for maintaining the plants in exchange for the water. (2) B2. Discussion of District's Efforts in Ground Water Manauement (1204-00 WATER) Tom Homan, General Manager, stated that in the mid-70's there was concern about the condition of the ground water basin, since the level was dropping ten feet per year in some areas. SB222 was passed in the State legislature which established a pump tax ($2.00 per acre foot), and those generated funds were used to perform a study of the basin, which led to an adjudication in 1978. The result of the adjudication was that a safe yield of groundwater was determined to be 140,000 acre feet per year. The master plan that resulted called for a system of assessments for anyone who excessively pumps water from the ground City Council Minutes October 10, 1989 Page 3 water basin. The revenue generated from the assessments is used to buy State project water which is used in spreading basins to replenish the ground water basin. The adjudication is monitored by a Water Master appointed by the court, which is the CBMWD Board of Directors. He stated the amount of water used last year in the Chino area was 270,000 acre feet, and the deficit was made up from other water. He stated the Cucamonga ground water basin is separate, and is controlled by Cucamonga County Water District. He stated most of water used by Rancho Cucamonga is from there. He covered some of the future problems with the ground water basin due to the amount of nitrates in the ground water, and discussed the ground water management plan they are developing to keep the situation under control. B3. Discussion of District's Regional Sewage ProDram. (1204-00 WATER) 'Tom Homan, General Manager, gave an overview of the various regional sewage treatment plants that service our area, their capacity, construction plans, and costs involved in funding and operating the plants. He stated that CBMWD has a regional performance plan that covers a 10 year span which is updated annually. Their calculations of funds needed for this time period is $430 million, with $130 million of that directly related to new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California. B4. Discussion of Waste Water Reclamation. (1204-00 WATER) Tom Homan, General Manager, discussed the Water Master report which showed initially CBMWD started at zero for their contribution to the reclamation program, but that around 1980 they began to discharge more than their obligation of 17,000 acre feet to the Santa Ana River. He discussed ways that CBMWD is exploring to reuse waste water that would increase cost effectiveness and utilize all the treatment plants, while addressing the environmental issues, not only of the Chino basin, but also of the downstream users. He stated that RP4 will be the showpiece for waste water reclamation, but the other plants will have some type of program as well. (3) (4) Tom Homan, General Manager, explained that most of what they do at CBMWD is impacted by environmental regulations, whether State, Federal or Local. He gave an overview of the evolvement of standards from the early 1970's, and how they have gone from secondary treatment to tertiary treatment. He stated there are more regulations pending regarding toxic materials, and how passage of these regulations will affect CBMWD and their cost of operating. B5. RePort on Environmental Regulations that Affect District OPerations. (1204- (5) 00 WATER) City Council Minutes October 10, 1989 Page 4 Mayor Stout asked about the phasing of Plant 4. Tom Homan, General Manager, stated they are in preliminary engineering, and they have retained a consultant who is working on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). They expect the EIR to be completed in a year, then design and construction will follow. Mayor Stout asked if there was a relationship between the dairy industry and the condition of the groundwater. Tom Homan, General Manager, stated the dairy industry would have an impact, some nitrates can be attributed to agricultural practices, but not necessarily to the dairy industry. He stated it takes 30-50 years for a chemical to get into the groundwater system. Mayor Stout asked about the offensive odor that is noticeable from RP1 sometimes, and asked if that could be attributed to weather conditions. Tom Homan, General Manager, stated that both RP1 and RP2 were built in the 1940's and were not designed to have a high level of odor control, and there were no land use conflicts until recent development around the plants. He stated the new plants will have odor control designed in. Mayor Stout asked if the technology was available to eliminate odors in the future. Tom Homan, General Manager, stated they do have the technology for odor control, and that it is much easier to install when building a new plant, but it is difficult when trying to retrofit a plant. They are trying to do what they can though to retrofit the older plants to control odors. Anne Dunihue, Director, felt that some of the odor problem was caused by construction at RP1 when it was being enlarged. Dwight French, President, stated they could take people to the new plants that had odor control when they were constructed to show them the effects of the technology. Councilwoman Brown asked about the sludge issue and how the City could help with the sewer lines and septic tanks. Dwight French, President, stated the pumping from the septic tanks is a small amount compared to their overall sludge problem. When there were articles about the sludge problem, at that time CBMWD was the only depository for septic tanks servicing all of San Bernardino County, and a portion of Riverside County as well. Since then they have cut back to servicing only within the Chino basin, and production from septic tanks within the Chino basin is very little. Some of the areas they are looking at to recycle the sludge is to compost it with the dairy industry, and then distribute it for retail sale for garden compost, and they also have an agreement with a firm to mix the sludge with kiln dust to use as a cover material for landfills. City Council Minutes October 10, 1989 Page 5 Councilwoman Brown asked that if continuing to build septic tanks in Rancho Cucamonga will not affect their business. Bud Girard, Director, stated it would not affect the sludge problem, but it will continue to affect the ground water quality. Mayor Stout asked if they would prefer that Rancho Cucamonga not allow septic tanks anymore. Councilwoman Brown asked if it would increase the nitrate level in the ground water. Bud Girard, Director, stated yes it would, that looking back in past records, it was domestic waste treatment at RP1 that greatly increased the nitrate content in the ground water. Mayor Stout asked if the amount of septic tanks found in the northern part of the City is affecting the Cucamonga County Water District ground water basin. Dwight French, President, stated not as much as past agricultural practices in that area. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, stated it also has to do with the level of the ground water, and in those areas the levels are quite low, so that when you do use septic tanks the impact is greater. Councilman Buquet felt that if we keep putting more and more in, eventually it will have to work its way down. Dwight French, President, stated that in some areas all of the water going into the ground water basin is coming from reuse. He feels that you will see a greater impact on the ground water basin from lawn fertilizers and chemicals, then from septic tanks. Of course the best action would be to have no septic tanks and have control through the treatment plants. Councilman Alexander asked what could Rancho Cucamonga do to set an example. Dwight French, President, stated that getting the treatment plants in, and encouraging xeriscaping in the community so that not only would less water be used for irrigation, but less chemicals would be used to keep unsuitable plants for the area lush looking. Anne Dunihue, Director, stated another thing that cities will have to start looking at is using a dual water system, i.e., reclaimed water for lawns and fresh water for domestic use. Mayor Stout asked if there was something they could do to control people from putting things into the sewer system that shouldn't be. City Council Minutes October 10, 1989 Page 6 Dwight French, President, stated Cucamonga County Water District is supposed to monitor what is being dumped into the sewer as a contracting agency for CBMWD, but of course any action from the City to help monitor would improve the situation. Councilman Buquet stated one possibility would be when an industrial operation comes into to the City would be to require trap installations that would be easily accessible for monitoring their discharge. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated their are new regulations for cities regarding storm water. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, stated this goes back to the fertilizers and chemicals used in yards. Dwight French, President, stated they will probably have to start treating storm water. Jack Lam, City Manager, asked if positions have changed on septic tanks due to environmental regulations or for other reasons, because ten years ago Cucamonga County Water District was encouraging septic tanks for ground water recharge. Were they doing that for lack of knowledge of environmental impact, or are we more concerned now because of increased regulations. Dwight French, President, stated he didn't feel that anyone knows yet what the real impact of septic tanks are because there has not been enough time to study it yet and see the effects. There are concerns about health impacts, but he doesn't feel anyone could tell you what that impact is, so it would be difficult to say if an agency was practicing incorrect policy or not. John Anderson, Secretary-Treasurer, left the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Mayor Stout stated there is a problem with the septic tanks anyway because people haven't maintained them and are taking washing machine water, etc., and dumping it illegally and causing health problems. Dwight French, President, stated the sewer system is a more positive way to dispose of sewage. Part of the legacy of the County is that their regulations on septic systems were not very good and the systems were undersize. Councilwoman Brown stated she felt that because of the increase of development in the City, the people who are doing the installing of the septic tanks don't know what they are doing. She felt that qualified people were too few, so she expects to see more problems because of that. Dwight French, President, stated there will be the same type of problem when contractors are installing sewers, there will be few qualified people to do the work. City Council Minutes October 10, 1989 Page 7 Councilman Buquet asked about storm water reclamation, and asked if large parcels of several hundred acres could serve as reclamation basins. Dwight French, President, stated there are currently recharge basins in the northern part of the City. Bud Girard, Director, stated they are using old gravel pits along the Los Angeles County border, but they are limited in how much they can use those basins because midges use them as breeding grounds, or they would use them more. Dwight French, President, stated that in the San Gabriel Valley area the gravel operators have come too close to the ground water level so it makes the old gravel pits impractical to use. He stated all of their water is being reclaimed, but he would like to see it used at least once in this basin before it is released to Orange County, which would also help them cut down on importing water. Deborah Brown stated she has heard that toilets that are used at the airport and in some restaurants use only one gallon of water to flush as opposed to the standard toilet, and was wondering if that was true. She also wondered if it would help if the City required developers to install that type of toilet in residential developments. Tom Homan, General Manager, stated yes, those toilets do use less water but he has heard mixed reports about them. He has heard it takes 2-3 flushes to make them work, so your savings are lost. Anne Dunihue, Director, stated there might be a problem because the sewer lines are made for five gallon capacity and felt there might not be enough water to push the sewage down the line. Mayor Stout asked if the City was to use reclaimed water for the parks, lakes, etc., is it cheaper than the regular water to the point where they could justify putting in a secondary water system for reclaimed water system. Dwight French, President, stated right now their contract provides for CBMWD to sell reclaimed water back to the servicing agencies for the cost of tertiary treatment. He felt they needed to get with all of their servicing agencies and regionalize their water, and try to get the right kind of agreements in place with the government. Thus if reclaimed water was used instead of domestic water, that would give a credit to the domestic user to be able to take more water out of the basin at a lower price. He felt if they had those kind of agreements in place, they could almost give away the reclaimed water, so the cost of the dual system is just for the installation of the system. He felt this would benefit everyone. Mayor Stout asked if Rancho Cucamonga would be dealing through the Cucamonga County Water District. Dwight French, President, stated yes, they are CBMWD's contracting agency. City Council Minutes October 10, 1989 Page 8 There were none. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC , , , , , D. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Moved by Buquet, seconded by Alexander to adjourn. 4-0-1 (Wright absent). The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Motion carried, Approved: November 1, 1989 Respectfully submitted, J ~/~ ~~2%~ J~nSutton Deputy City Clerk