City pursues use of recycled water

As water agencies warn of a drought this summer, the city is pursuing an innovative program to bring recycled water to the North Bayshore area.

If the council approves the project, 10 percent of the city’s water could be saved with help from dual plumbing systems in North Bayshore buildings. With such a system, one set of pipes carries recycled water for flushing toilets, cooling air conditioners and feeding fire sprinklers, while the other carries potable water for sinks and drinking fountains.

The recycled water would also be used for landscaping the large district north of Highway 101. The city has acquired grant funding for the $26 million project, but the rest, about $5 million, would be paid over several years with a zero-interest loan the state has recently committed to.

During a study session at Tuesday’s council meeting, as council members discussed using the water for landscaping, Ronit Bryant surprised fellow members with her comments on 400 redwood trees in the Bayshore area that would be sensitive to the recycled water’s clay content.

“Redwoods really don’t belong in North Bayshore,” she said. “Everyone knows I’m a tree hugger, I can say what I want about trees.”

Council members laughed. She continued.

“It’s marshland, there are trees that will survive there much happier than redwoods,” she said. “I don’t think we should spend millions of dollars to water grass that doesn’t belong there either.”

Bryant recommended using native, drought-tolerant plants.

“We’re going to be spending a lot of money … let’s do something better,” she said.

She later clarified her position, saying she wouldn’t necessarily advocate for cutting down the redwoods, but would have definitely opposed them when they were planted.

“Hearing Ronit say some trees can be done away with shocked me so much I forgot what I was going to say,” joked council member Nick Galiotto.

Council member Tom Means said he could just imagine the political fallout if the redwoods were to go.

About 90 percent of the city’s water comes from Sierra Nevada snowpack through the Hetch Hetchy aqueduct, controlled by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The price of this water is expected to triple over the next 10 years, as repairs are made to the aqueduct and demand increases with population growth. Statewide demand for water is expected to increase 20 percent over the next 25 years.

There is concern that other cities could fight for a larger share of the SFPUC water, taking away from Mountain View’s allotment. “We’ll vigorously resist that,” said city manager Kevin Duggan.

Voluntary rationing is currently in place for SFPUC users due to a lack of snowfall this year in the Sierras. The remaining 10 percent of Mountain View’s water comes from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, where there isn’t a water shortage this year.

Council member Jac Siegel cited concerns about introducing recycled water into buildings in the North Bayshore area, including illnesses he had seen in other countries using dual water systems. But he also said that maintaining a stable water supply into the future was about as important to the city’s safety as a fire or police department.

Mayor Laura Macias said she grew up with a dual water system in Arizona, a desert necessity that worked fine.

The first building to use the dual water system may be a large one proposed by Google for the Shoreline area. The building is expected to represent the pinnacle of green building design.

Duggan said it’s becoming clear that water will be one of the resources people will fight over in the future, just like oil is fought over today. With that in mind, the city has already built an eight-million-gallon reservoir under the new football field at Graham Middle School.