New water works? New water works? (February 06, 2004)

Pipe may be built for golf course

By Julie O'Shea

City Council is slated to decide Tuesday whether it wants to partner with Palo Alto in a $16.6-million recycled-water system overhaul that would construct a pipeline to Mountain View's Shoreline Golf Links.

The project, which is estimated to cost the city $8.8 million, would also connect the recycled-water pipelines to Moffett Field.

With the state expected to chip in nearly $4 million, Public Works Director Cathy Lazarus thinks "this is probably the most advantageous time to move forward with the project."

The Water Reuse Program was started in the early 1980s and provided recycled water for landscape and golf course irrigation in Mountain View. The water came from the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant, which services Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, the East Palo Alto Sanitary District and Stanford.

In 2001, the distribution of recycled water to Mountain View was halted after officials discovered the pipeline buried in wetlands had failed. Recycled-water users, like Shoreline Golf Links, have been using portable water but continue to be charged the recycled rate for water use, according to a city staff report.

"One of the constraints has been the cost of the project," Lazarus said. Besides the state, project dollars will also be coming from the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant. The cities must apply for the state grant by March 1.

City Council will meet Tuesday at City Hall located at 500 Castro St.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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