The City Council will consider adopting the EIR for the recycled water pipeline project on February 22, and your membership may wish to weigh-in on the important topic.
Pasadena contracted with Glendale in 1993 to invest in the expansion of Glendale’s recycled water system to Scholl Canyon. PWP has been unable to take deliveries of recycled water due to a lack of infrastructure to deliver and distribute the water to our customers. For we’ve been considering options, and are now proposing the Pasadena Non-Potable Water Project (“Proposed Project”) as a means to convey this source of recycled water to PWP customers.
The Proposed Project is part of the City’s long-term strategy to reduce dependence on imported water by tapping into more reliable and energy-efficient local water sources. It will be implemented in six phases over the next 20 years, and when completed it will offset approximately 10% of PWP’s potable water use by providing over 3,000 acre-feet per year (“AFY”) of non-potable supply. By reducing PWP’s reliance on imported water supplies, the Proposed Project will benefit all PWP water customers. It will also help us meet mandated water conservation goals.
Phase 1 will serve about 4 customers in western Pasadena approximately 700 AFY, at an estimated all-in cost of about $1,100-$2,100/AF depending upon our success with state and federal grant applications and the final cost to build Phase 1 .
The attached information report provided to MSC last week provides much of the detail. I would point out that the cost of the water shown in that report is based on a high cost estimate for Phase 1 with a $7 million (almost 40%) contingency being used for grant applications. If Phase 1 comes in closer to the preliminary estimate of $18 million, the cost of recycled water should be competitive with MWD tier 2 water rates.