New Legislation would expand innovative Bay Area water recycling program
New Legislation would expand innovative Bay Area water recycling program
Bill could help quell drought, reduce Bay-Delta dependence, and create jobs
WASHINGTON, DC – Water recycling in the Bay Area could get a big boost under a new bill introduced in Congress today by nine Bay Area lawmakers, helping to stimulate the economy while reducing the demand for limited fresh water supplies.
Water recycling is already underway in communities throughout the Bay Area. The new bill (HR 2442) would make six additional Bay Area projects eligible for federal funding, projects that would save 2.6 billion gallons per year for the region's water supply. The six projects would be added to the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program to help address California’s cycles of drought and reduce dependence on water from the troubled Bay-Delta ecosystem.
The Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Expansion Act of 2009 was introduced by Reps George Miller (D-Martinez), Pete Stark (D-Fremont), Ellen Tauscher (D-Concord), Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto), Mike Honda (D-San Jose), Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma), Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton), Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) and Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo).
The six projects contained in the Expansion Act would add enough water to meet the needs of 24,225 households (equivalent to serving every household in Pittsburg and most in Bay Point). The activities authorized by the new legislation include include installing new piping, storage tanks, and pump stations in order to provide clean water to the cities of Concord, Dublin, Petaluma, Redwood City, Antioch, and throughout the Palo Alto area including Stanford University. According to the regional agencies, 3,581 jobs would be supported by the bill's enactment.
Water recycling projects are already under way in Pittsburg, San Mateo and five other local communities, and are currently authorized for federal funding under the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program thanks to efforts by the local congressional delegation. The program allows local water managers to treat wastewater and use the clean, recycled water for landscape irrigation and other uses, including at golf courses, schools, city parks and other municipal facilities. Under the new legislation, the six additional Bay Area communities would be allowed to work with the federal Bureau of Reclamation to use precious water supplies more efficiently.
The lawmakers released the following statement after introducing the bill:
“As people all over the country are impacted by declining water supplies, there is no better time to invest in new water technologies like water recycling. Recycling our wastewater is a smart and efficient way to conserve water supplies, lessen our impact on our natural resources, and create jobs and support local businesses.
“Expanding water recycling will allow our Bay Area communities access to a continuous water supply, even during times of drought, and will stabilize both our water resources and our local economies. And creating new alternative water sources by using innovative water recycling technologies will allow us to take some of the enormous strain off the Bay-Delta and other natural water resources.
“With this bill, we’ll allow cities across the Bay Area to join in a strong federal-local partnership that is providing our region a sustainable and reliable clean water supply.”
The Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Expansion Act of 2009 builds on the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Authorization Act, which was signed into law in 2008 and added eight water recycling projects to the federal authorization list. As a result of that law and subsequent efforts by Miller and his colleagues, those water recycling projects will receive federal funding in 2009 from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Complete list of new Bay Area water recycling projects to be authorized by the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Expansion Act of 2009:
- CCCSD-Concord Recycled Water Project
- Central Dublin Recycled Water Distribution and Retrofit Project
- Petaluma Recycled Water Project
- Central Redwood City Recycled Water Project
- Palo Alto Recycled Water Pipeline Project
- Ironhouse Sanitary District-Antioch Recycled Water Project
Water recycling also received a large funding boost in the President's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar recently announced that $135 million in Recovery Act funds would be dedicated exclusively for water recycling programs like those in the Bay Area.
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