Water Reclamation Facility Uncertainty Could Pay Off

by Jack McCurdy

Summary: Morro Bay is on a  five-year track to have a badly-needed new wastewater treatment plant (now called a water reclamation facility) up and running in five years, but that schedule has taken on some uncertainties, such as whether the city might decide to join efforts to build a regional treatment plant instead. That would raise many questions about when such a regional plant would become operable and whether it would adequately serve the acute potable (disinfected) water needs of Morro Bay residents. However, such a regional facility might wind up costing Morro bay water ratepayers less—if they got the water they needed.

Also, the city's WRF planning consultant, John Rickenbach, has picked out a top-ranked and much-preferred site for the plant, another huge step that the Council may finalize at a meeting in August, unless it decides to give serious consideration to becoming part of a regional wastewater treatment plan that is more prominently on the table now.

That top-ranked site is located 1.7 miles east from the old, existing sewage plant overlooking Estero Bay, and is just east of Highway 41—but is not the same one, the Righetti property, that had been ranked tops a few months ago. This one—called Rancho Colina—is located a little way east of the Rancho Colina mobile homes and has more pluses than Righetti or any of the other sites that have been and remain under consideration can claim. But the biggest plus is that the owner and occupant of Rancho Colina is eager to have the WRF close by—1000 feet away.

Rickenbach also reported at the Council's May 13 meeting that the cost of building the WRF might be less than previously projected "If additional funding sources, either by sharing costs with possible partner agencies, or through state grants or other financing, the final cost of the plant (and the effect on City ratepayers) would likely be less than projected in this report," his report said.

But there is a potential downside in the status report presented by Rickenbach, which cites some obstacles to meeting that five-year WRF development goal. And even a potential obstacle to building a WRF that would be owned and operated by the city all alone. But if the city wound up sharing construction, ownership and operation of such a plant, that might have some major pluses, including being cheaper for Morro Bay and its residents, his report said.

 But the Rickenbach report said "discharge (of recycled water) to creeks is strictly regulated, and it is not known at this time what permit conditions would be attached with such a use, which would depend to some extent on the characteristics of the creeks and their associated beneficial uses as described in the Basin Plan. In addition, the water rights issues associated with this approach must be resolved before it can be considered a feasible approach to meeting the City's goals." (Rickenbach said a basin plan is a document produced by the Regional Water Quality Control Board that describes each watershed (i.e., creek) within the Central Coast Region, along with the "beneficial uses" allowed for each. A beneficial use simply means the kinds of things that the waterbody can be used for, from municipal, to industrial and recreation.)

In the ongoing review of a new WRF, it has come out that stream discharge for direct potable use is currently not allowed by state regulations, except under certain circumstances, and at least a permit would be needed to do so.

The city is currently investigating the specific permitting requirements associated with streamflow augmentation, depending on the intended use of the water that may be discharged to streams.

None of this is the Council's fault.

The uncertainties were turned up by Rickenbach's research, his discussions about the location of the WRF (which also will take in and process the city's waste matter) with owners of other potential WRF sites and conferring with other major "players" like the county, which his report says has expressed support for converting the sewage plant at the California Men's Colony (CMC) near Cuesta College into a regional wastewater plant. It is to the city's advantage that Rickenbach has brought this uncertainty to light now—early-on before the planning goes much farther.

The Rickenbach report said, "The County is currently investigating the potential for constructing a regional wastewater facility at the location of the existing facility serving the California Men's Colony…The County (would take) over the existing facility…possibly including other partner agencies in the region. The regional concept appears to have some support among key staff at the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), who believe this could be a good location for that purpose. The RWQCB has encouraged the City of Morro Bay to participate in such a venture." The RWQCB is the main state agency pushing Morro Bay and Cayucos, which jointly own and operate the old sewage plant in Morro Bay, to develop a new plant. But the board itself has not yet taken a position on a regional wastewater treatment/potable water-producing plant.

If a regional facility were developed, there would be no need for Morro Bay to have its own WRF, since Morro Bay would be served by the regional facility. The question is: would it be the kind of plant Morro Bay needs, i.e. that is capable of producing the large amounts of water it needs now but must have down the road.

The city has acknowledged the possible merit of pursuing a regional facility that could serve multiple agencies, the report said, citing the potential benefits of sharing the cost of construction, operation and maintenance with partner agencies, if a suitable working framework could be established. Some agencies, including the county and supported by key staff at the RWQCB, have shown strong interest in pursuing such a facility, envisioning an expansion of the existing CMC wastewater treatment plant operated by the State Department of Corrections, the Rickenbach report said. As currently envisioned, the operation, maintenance and ownership of this facility would be taken over by the county.

It has not yet been determined how many other partners could be involved, Rickenbach's report said, although the Cayucos Sanitary District has expressed strong interest. That's because if the city's existing old sewage plant is replaced by a new WRF, Cayucos would be without a facility to process its sewage, unless it were to become part of a regional plan. The county is currently leading an effort to explore the viability of such a new regional facility at the CMC.

In a followup report to be released later this year, Rickenbach is scheduled to analyze findings about these options for the Council and recommend whether or not the city should be part of this regional effort or continue to pursue a WRF and site of its own. Whether the city could pursue its own WRF if the county, the RWQCB and possibly the Coastal Commission all agreed to support a regional facility remains to be seen.

These are the "finalists" among WRF sites reviewed in the Rickenbach report: Morro Valley, Rancho Colina first and Righetti second in that region; Chorro Valley, a site along the north side of Highway 1 near the intersection of South Bay Boulevard, and the Giannini property, located on the south side of Highway 41 a short distance east of Main Street.

The Council left the door open for using the Rancho Colina site for a regional facility if the regional idea turned out to be the most desirable.

In his report, Rickenbach said Rancho Colina was ranked first as a potential site for the WRF because of a highly-motivated property owner (Steve Macelvaine), a unique opportunity to replace an outdated wastewater treatment facility (privately-owned, near to and serving Rancho Colina mobile homes), proximity to the majority of reclamation opportunities for groundwater recharge (creeks and farms), the most developable portion of the site is already disturbed and graded, the best part of the site (where a plant would likely be located) is not visible to offsite residences, the site does not conflict with Coastal Commission policies or issues on facilities in the coastal zone.

The creeks in question are Chorro, Morro, Little Morro, Willow, Toro, Alva Paul, Old Creek and Cayucos.

The  report says Macelvaine "appears to be a very willing potential partner for the City in the development of a new WRF. From his perspective, he would like to be annexed to the City, and sees this project as an opportunity to bring public services (notably city water) to serve his site. The nearby Rancho Colina residential complex has been served by a small wastewater treatment plant that has been in operation on the potential project site since 1971. He has indicated that if the City built a new WRF on his property, it would be an opportunity to remove the existing antiquated treatment plant and transfer the responsibility of serving the nearby Rancho Colina residents to the City with its new facility.

Furthermore, the property has been owned by the same family for over 50 years, so the City can benefit from the historical knowledge and records for the property that the owner may possess."

Here is the WRF development timeline previously approved by the Council:
— Reduce the number of potential sites to one to compare to the CMC option by April, 2014.
— Final site selection by August, 2014.
— Finalize facilities master plan by December, 2015.
— Finalize environmental document by August, 2016.
— Complete permitting process by December, 2016.
— Finalize design; if design/build (same contractor designs and builds the plant) process is used, only 30% design is required by August, 2017.
— Complete construction and startup by February 25, 2019.