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Mountain View is another step closer to expanding the use of recycled water in the city, after reaching an agreement with Palo Alto to foot more than half of the cost of an advanced water purification system.
Mountain View plans to contribute $32.5 million of the total project cost, which is estimated to cost nearly $60 million.
The Mountain View City Council unanimously approved the cost-sharing agreement at its Tuesday meeting, authorizing $22 million in payments over the next two years. The city also plans to cover a $10.5 million loan issued by Palo Alto once the purification system is constructed.
“This is an example of right-sizing the quality of water for the use of the water,” said City Council member Pat Showalter, who expressed enthusiasm for the project at the May 13 meeting.
For decades, Mountain View has been using recycled water that is treated at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant in Palo Alto. The recycled water is used for non-potable purposes, increasing the availability of the city’s freshwater supply, especially during times of drought.
“This recycled water isn’t going to be used for drinking. It’s going to be used for things like irrigating plants, flushing toilets and cooling towers, and then we can save the water that we import from the mountains for drinking,” Showalter said.
The water purification system will be constructed at the periphery of the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, which is located on Embarcadero Way and which serves Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford University and the East Palo Alto Sanitary District. It will consist of a 30-foot-tall storage tank, a prefabricated building and an open-air building, according to plans that the Palo Alto council considered and approved a year ago.
The two cities have been discussing better wastewater treatment options for well over a decade, as each looked for ways to make irrigation more sustainable. In 2019, Palo Alto and its partners in the wastewater plant reached a deal with Valley Water for construction of two plants, the one that is now being pursued on Embarcadero Way and a separate facility on San Antonio Road that would purify wastewater and make it potable.
The Palo Alto council gave the Embarcadero Way project a vote of confidence last year, when it approved the plans presented by staff. Mayor Ed Lauing, who was vice mayor at the time, cited the project as a great example of a partnership between the two cities. The Palo Alto City Council is scheduled to discuss the water purification project and cost-sharing agreement at its May 19 meeting.
Currently, Mountain View requires recycled water for irrigation in North Bayshore. Installing dual plumbing for recycled water also is required citywide in nonresidential buildings larger than 25,000 square feet.
Mountain View is planning to increase the number of recycled water sites in areas slated for major growth like East Whisman. It also is looking to increase usage at the NASA Ames Center at Moffett Field, according to the council report.
But the current water treatment system is not equipped to handle this uptake, nor has it been fully utilized in North Bayshore.
Recycled water treated at Palo Alto’s facility is too salty for irrigating certain types of landscaping and plants, particularly redwood trees that cannot handle high salinity levels. The salinity also is corrosive to equipment.
An advanced purification system would solve this problem, improving the quality of recycled water for more widespread use, the report said.
However, the escalating cost prompted some concern from Mountain View council members. In 2019, the project was expected to cost about $20 million. It has increased to nearly $60 million, a nearly three-fold increase since then.
The purification system should be completed as quickly as possible to avoid higher costs, Council member John McAlister said.
While Mountain View is funding a major bulk of the project, other agencies are stepping in to help close the funding gap. The Santa Clara Valley Water District has kicked in $17 million to support the project.
Palo Alto also has been awarded a $10.4 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, although the funding could be at risk with the current federal administration. If the funding is pulled, then the $10.5 million loan issued by Palo Alto likely would increase, the report said.
The scenario did not dissuade council members from backing the project.
“We need to continue to stay on this course,” McAlister said. “We need to be more proactive in doing items that increase our maintenance and our infrastructure that will be a benefit for the whole city.”
Palo Alto Weekly Editor Gennady Sheyner contributed to this report.
So funny how everyone screams when the Teacher housing cost went up by 50%(roughly)….but when a water plant goes up by….300%? Not a peep.
Where’s the guest oped on this? The false outrage and histrionics over a public, over budget project? Did the voters approve this in the text of any ballot? Did the Council sneak this through in an 11th hour motion? We must recall!