CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
September 19, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Chris Diggs, Water Resources Director
SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE GRANT APPLICATION FOR WELLHEAD TREATMENT ON CITY WELLS RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following resolution:
Resolution no. 2022-173 A Resolution OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, california, AUTHORIZING THE GRANT APPLICATION FOR WELLHEAD TREATMENT ON CIty WELLS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Staff is seeking approval of the attached resolution, which would authorize the City Manager to sign the necessary documents for the submission of a grant with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) WaterSMART Drought Resiliency Project for a Wellhead Treatment Project (Project) to construct three water treatment facilities that will treat 3.6 million gallons of water per day.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact to approving the attached resolution or submitting the associated grant application. However, if the City is successful in receiving said grant, the City would receive up to $7.0 million to construct the necessary treatment facilities. Subsequently, Council action would be needed to receive the grant funds.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
None associated with this grant opportunity.
DISCUSSION:
The Water Resources Department was recently made aware of a DWR grant opportunity. This grant is intended to assist utilities in dealing with the impacts of drought. Having reviewed the grant guidelines and the needs of the City, staff determined there are water projects that are both necessary and qualify for the grant.
The City relies on three basic sources of water to meet customer demands; groundwater, surface water, and imported water. As the drought persists all of these sources are stressed; however, at this point, groundwater is the City’s most reliable source, and makes up nearly 70 percent of the supply used to meet annual customer demands. This percentage shifts significantly in summer months as temperatures increase and the supply of groundwater cannot meet the summer demands. In summer months nearly 50 percent of daily demands are met with imported water as the City’s wells can no longer keep pace with customer demands.
The reliance on imported water highlights the increasing need to seek local water sources to meet the water supply needs of City customers. Further illustrating this need was this month’s shutdown of a major pipeline used to supply water to numerous cities in the San Gabriel Valley, including Pomona. During this 15 day shutdown customers were asked to completely eliminate all outdoor irrigation, and although all customers were provided with all the water needed for health and human needs, completely eliminating irrigation throughout the City for a prolonged time would certainly impact the quality of life of our residents.
To add to the City’s water supply portfolio, staff is seeking funding to construct three water treatment plants which will restore 3.6 million gallons of water supply per day. These treatment plants will be used to remove both nitrate and 1,2,3-TCP, and will be operated by City staff upon completion. At this juncture staff is seeking approval for the submission of the grant application and to authorize to the City Manager to execute all related documents. If the funding is received, staff will return to Council for approval to create a new CIP project, receive and appropriate the funds to the new project, and to issue a contract for the construction of the treatment plants.
Prepared by:
Chris Diggs
ATTACHMENT: No. 1 – Resolution No. 2022-173
Wellhead Treatment Plant Grant Application Approval