City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: fEBRUARY 22, 2022 FROM: PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL SUBJECT: RESOLUTION FOR THE DRINKING WATER QUALITY POLICY PRINCIPLES ISSUES:
Approve the Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles and adopt the resolution for the Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Approve the Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles document; and
2. Adopt the Resolution for the Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
On Monday, January 24, 2022, the Board of Public Utilities voted to recommend the approval and adoption of the Resolution for the Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles with Board Chair Sanchez-Monville and Board Members Cherney, Goldware, Heru, Melendez, Montgomery, and Wohlgemuth voting aye, and Board Vice Chair Crohn abstaining. Board Member Oceguera was absent.
BACKGROUND:
Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) has invested significantly in water supply, treatment, distribution, and storage facilities to ensure the quality of water it serves meets or exceeds all federal and state drinking water standards. The diversity of local water supply facilities, including over 50 active groundwater wells, nine treatment plants, three transmission mains, a 32-million-gallon blending reservoir and coupled with three imported water connections, creates a diverse system and requires a multi-barrier approach to protect public health.
To ensure a safe and high-quality water supply for RPU customers from its sources, RPU has actively engaged for decades in protecting the groundwater basins from which its water supply is produced. This engagement includes participation in regional groundwater basin management efforts with other municipal water and regulatory agencies as well as with industrial entities which are under court-ordered mandates and/or settlement agreements to remediate groundwater contamination caused by their business operations.
These industrial entities are referred to as Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) and Responsible Parties (RPs). A PRP can be any individual or organization such as owners, operators, transporters, or generators potentially responsible for, or contributing to, a spill or other contamination. An RP may be any individual or organization that is held liable by court order or regulatory authority. Many times, entities are ordered to remediate or pay for the remediation of the contamination of the groundwater basin caused by their actions. The Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles (DWQPP) document defines the policy principles that will be the basis for developing a Drinking Water Quality Policy. The RPU Drinking Water Policy memorializes RPU’s approach when discussing and negotiating contamination clean-up efforts at RPU sources of supply. The Drinking Water Quality Policy will help the Utility be consistent when coordinating with PRPs and RPs over time. The Drinking Water Quality Policy will guide staff’s discussions with PRPs and RPs about important issues such as the level of treatment that will be required at RPU wells, when treatment is needed, when treatment can be removed, and if or how RPU’s blending capacity can be used, among others.
The City is currently pursuing litigation and is managing successful settlement agreements regarding contaminants such as perchlorate, PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), DBCP (1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane), 1,2,3-TCP (1,2,3,-Trichloropropane), and TCE (Trichloroethylene).
DISCUSSION:
The developed DWQPPs are based on the following bedrock principles:
Every person has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes (AB 685 – 2012) (Water Code Section 106.3); Drinking water is one of our most valuable resources, and it must be safeguarded against contaminants that would lower the water quality; and All PRPs and RPs that have caused or contributed to contamination of the City’s drinking water supply source (i.e., groundwater basins) will be compelled to treat drinking water to less than detectable concentrations prior to RPU considering accepting PRPs or RPs treated water into the City’s transmission/distribution system.
A detailed description of all the DWQPPs is summarized in the table below and described in the DWQPP document attached.
Policy No.
Specific DWQPP
DWQPP 1
Meet Drinking Water Standards
DWQPP 2
Public Health Goals and PRP Identification
DWQPP 3
Agreements
DWQPP 4
Federal and State Policies
DWQPP 5
Change in Regulations
DWQPP 6
Exceedance of MCL
DWQPP 7
Blending
DWQPP 8
Termination of Obligation
DWQPP 9
Replacement Water
The fundamental mission of RPU is to deliver high-quality water to its customers by applying a multi-barrier approach to protect public health by managing the water quality of drinking water from its source to the customer. RPU’s Drinking Water Quality Policy will direct staff to adhere to the guidelines contained herein. Every individual within RPU’s service area is entitled to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water. RPU is committed to protecting and enhancing its water supply sources for the benefit of its customers.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The development of a Drinking Water Quality Policy contributes to the Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan Strategic Priority 4 – Environmental Stewardship and Goal 4.2 – Sustainably manage local water resources to maximize reliability and advance water reuse to ensure safe, reliable and affordable water to our community.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The DWQPP document provides the tools to RPU staff for their commitment to protecting public health and thereby enhancing community trust.
Equity – All people within RPU’s service area are entitled to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water and RPU is committed to protecting and enhancing its water supply source for the same benefit throughout the City.
Fiscal Responsibility – This policy will work towards ensuring RPs pay for the clean-up efforts associated with their contamination within RPU’s water supplies. Furthermore, the availability of clean and affordable drinking water to all RPU customers eliminates the need and expense of paying for additional treatment at a residence or business.
Innovation – Proactively preparing a policy to help guide staff in navigating the ever-changing water regulatory landscape.
Sustainability & Resiliency – The policy principles provided in this document, as part of the fundamental missions of RPU, will emphasize the delivery of high-quality water to its customers in a manner that is sustainable and environmentally sound.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Prepared by: Todd M. Corbin, Utilities General Manager Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney Attachments:
Resolution Adopting Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles
Presentation
Drinking Water Quality Policy Principles ● Page 2