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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso - CC - 042-2013RESOLUTION NO. -42-2013 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURLINGAME APPROVING RESPONSE TO THE GRAND JURY REPORT: "WATER RECYCLING—AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF WISE WATER MANAGEMENT" WHEREAS, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury released a report entitled, "Water Recycling —An Important Component of Wise Water Management" in March 2013; and WHEREAS, the report provides a summary of recycled water uses, benefits, and regulations and concludes with a set of findings and recommendations specific to San Mateo County water service agencies, including the City of Burlingame; and WHEREAS, The County has requested that each agency respond to the findings and recommendations and to submit such responses to the County by June 4, 2013; and WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the proposed draft response letter attached hereto as Exhibit A. NOW, THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, and it is hereby ORDERED, that the letter in response to the San Mateo County Grand Jury Report, "Water Recycling — An Important Component of Wise Water Management", is hereby approved, and the Mayor is authorized to sign and convey said letter on behalf of the City. -"kv�l� Vi C,E Nna9-`i I, MARY ELLEN KEARNEY, City Clerk of the City of Burlingame, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 6TH day of MAY, 2013, and was adopted thereafter by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:BAYLOCR, BROWNRIGG, DEAL NAGEL NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:KEIGHRAN tr �� Ci Clerk MAYOR ANN KEIGHRAN MICHAEL BROWNRIGG, VICE MAYOR CATHY BAYLOCK TERRY NAGEL JERRY DEAL Hon. Richard C. Livermore Judge of the Superior Court c/o Charlene Kresevich Hall of Justice 400 County Center; 2nd Floor Redwood City, CA 94063-1655 The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 May 6, 2013 TEL: (650) 558-7200 FAX: (650) 556-9281 w .burlinaame oro Subject: City of Burlingame Response to Grand Jury Report: "Water Recycling —An Important Component of Wise Water Management" San Mateo County, California Hon. Richard C. Livermore: The City of Burlingame is pleased to submit this Response to the 2013 San Mateo County Grand Jury Report "Water Recycling —An Important Component of Wise Water Management." This response was approved by the Burlingame City Council at its meeting on May 6, 2013. The Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations and the City's responses to each are provided below. Grand Jury Finding Ff. There is a growing imbalance in the County and the region between water supply and demand. City Response: Regional water supply and demand projections developed by BAWSCA indicate that water demand will exceed water supply in the region. With the assumption that these projections are accurate, the City of Burlingame agrees with this finding. Grand Jury Finding F2. The County and Cities must reduce their residents' dependence on imported water by diversifying their water supply sources. City Response: The necessity to diversify water supply sources in order to reduce dependence on imported water supplies varies from community to community, depending on each water agency's existing water supply portfolio. The City of Burlingame therefore does not agree that it is a necessity for every city. Grand Jury Finding F3. Water recycling alone cannot completely mitigate the growing imbalance between water supply and demand, but used in conjunction with other water management options it can help the County and Cities maintain a safe and reliable water source. City Response: The City of Burlingame agrees with this finding; recycled water can be an important component of an overall water supply portfolio. Grand Jury Finding F4. Properly produced and used, recycled water poses little or no public health risk. City Response: If produced and used in accordance with existing regulations (such as Title 22, Division 4, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations ("CCR") and Title 17, Division 1, Chapter 5 of the CCR), the City agrees that recycled water likely poses little or no public health risk; however the City has not conducted a literature review to develop an independent opinion on this topic. Grand Jury Finding F5. Educational programs are necessary to highlight the growing importance of recycled water in the County and the region. City Response: The necessity of recycled water education programs varies from community to community. Educational programs are more important to communities currently with recycled water programs than those without. Further, regional educational programs may provide a benefit for cities that are developing or planning to develop recycled water programs. Grand Jury Finding F6. The County and Cities would benefit from collaborative arrangements to jointly produce and distribute recycled water where appropriate. City Response: Collaborative arrangements to jointly produce and distribute recycled water may provide cost -benefits associated with economies of scale, however the actual benefit would vary city to city. Grand Jury Recommendations R1 through R5 are not addressed herein because they pertain to cities and water agencies other than Burlingame. As Burlingame is not responsible for the actions of other water agencies, it cannot respond to such recommendations. Grand Jury Recommendation R6. Engage in active dialogue with water purveyors and wastewater treatment providers, as applicable, about the feasibility of developing a program for producing and distributing recycled water. City Response: This recommendation has been implemented. In 2011, the City retained the environmental engineering firm Erler & Kalinowski, Inc. ("EKI") to evaluate the feasibility of expanding their recycled water program. The results of this evaluation are documented in "Technical Memorandum — Summary of Recycled Water Supply and Demand Evaluation," dated March 25, 2011 (EKI, 2011), which is provided as an attachment to this letter. Grand Jury Recommendation R7. Conduct any studies that may be required to develop a program for recycling water. City Response: Based on the evaluation performed in 2011 (EKI, 2011), it was determined that it is not feasible for the City of Burlingame to develop a recycled water distribution program due to the high capital costs associated with such a project, given an insufficient demand for recycled water. Therefore, this recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or reasonable, at this time. If you have any questions or need additional information please contact Art Morimoto, Assistant Public Works Director, at (650) 558-7670. Very truly yours, THE CITY OF BURLINGAME --Michael Br7 Vice Mayor Attachment: EKI, 2011. Technical Memorandum — Summary of Recycled Water Supply and Demand Evaluation, prepared for City of Burlingame, dated March 25, 2011