By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at patch.com
Regional Board Engineer Gary Stewart: “City of Beaumont Currently Can Not Comply with TDS Limits.”
At the July 21, 2015 Beaumont City Council Meeting Kyle Warsinski replied “Yes” when asked by Councilman Lloyd White if the City could comply with the Order.
Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board Staff Member Michael Adachapara denied the Order involved recycled water when questioned by Councilman Mark Orozco.
On July 24, 2015 Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board Staff Engineer Gary Stewart presented the Order R8-2015-0026 to the Regional Board. Stewart explains that the City’s Total Dissolve Solids and Total Inorganic Nitrogen Limits will be more restrictive until the City produces Title 22 Compliant Recycled Water.
Stewart made some grey ares clear:
“In fact; the City of Beaumont currently can not comply with those TDS Limits.”
The City of Beaumont currently does not comply with the Order as stayed by City and Board Staff.
“there’s a possibility that the City will provide recycled water to the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District.”
It is the City’s responsibility to provide the recycled water to the District.
“The use of that recycled water was in the best interest of – the maximum benefit of the People of the State. As a result of that; the Regional Board incorporated the Maximum Benefit Water Quality Objectives”
State Law requires the City to produce Title 22 Compliant Recycled Water – it is not the City’s ‘option’.
Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board July 24, 2015 Transcript
Adackapara retiring after 30 years.
Item 10: Renewal of Water Discharge Requirement for the City of Beaumont
July 24, 2015 Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board Agenda Item 10:
Gary Stewart Regional Board Staff Engineer: One of the unique things about this Order is that it contains two sets of limits for Total Dissolved Solids and Total Inorganic Nitrogen. As you know; several years ago the Regional Board revised the Groundwater Quality Objectives for the Groundwater Management Zones in the Beaumont and Yucaipa Areas to encourage recycled water use. The Regional Board found that although the increased use of recycled water in the area may cause degradation of underlying groundwater, the use of that recycled water was in the best interest of – the maximum benefit of the People of the State. As a result of that; the Regional Board incorporated the Maximum Benefit Water Quality Objectives in addition to the previous Anti-Degradation Water Quality Objectives.
Stewart: So there are two sets of Water Quality Objections in the Basin Plan. Just a few months ago the Regional Board made some slight revisions to the Basin Plan addressing those Maximum Benefit issues. The Order before you today incorporates these Max Benefit Objectives. It continues to require the City of Beaumont to comply with the “anti-degradation Objectives” for wastewater discharge, continuing wastewater discharges. However; if the City starts supplying recycled water to Users; this Order has a less restrictive maximum benefit TDS and TIN Limits that the City must comply with.
Stewart: Currently the City has considering supplying recycled water to two different golf courses and also there’s a possibility that the City will provide recycled water to the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District. The Water District has a large recycled water distribution system already in place. This Order recognizes those three different points of recycled water delivery and use.
Stewart: The TDS Limits in the Order are more restrictive than the TDS Limits than the previous/current Order that this Order will replace. In fact; the City of Beaumont currently can not comply with those TDS Limits. The City is proposing to install Reverse Osmosis Treatment System at the end of their Tertiary Treatment System to reduce the TDS and comply with these new limits. The City has given us an aggressive time schedule for completion of that RO Unit and that has been incorporated into this Order that you’re going to be considering. The Order requires the Reverse Osmosis System to be online by March, 2020. The Order also requires the City to account for any discharges in excess of the TDS Limits from now until that RO Unit is online and then gives the City 5 years to completely offset any discharges in excess of those limits. So they have to have the RO Unit online in March, 2020, and offset any excess salts that are being discharged between now and 2020 by 2025.
Stewart: We received two sets of comments on this draft Order. The Comments and our Responses to the Comments are at the end of your Agenda Package. We also revised the Order in response to those comments and the Order before you today contains those revisions that we’ve made in response to the comments on the tentative Order.
Beaumont City Council Transcript July 7, 2015: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=212
White: Yes. If this was in place right now, would we be in compliance?
165:00 Warsinski: Yes.
165:30 Mike Adackapara, Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board: Councilman White asked if any comments provided to us are available. Yes, it’s available on our website.
166:00 White: At this point; has the City of Beaumont everything that we need to do to be properly represented for the meeting of the 24th. Have we followed all the deadlines and the processes?
Adackapara: As far as I know Mr. ( D?) has done everything that needs to be done.
Orozco: Does this have any relations to Title 22?
Adackapara: The Title 22 Report is in Engineering Report. It used to be the Department of Health Services. It’s now it is at the State Water Resources Control Board. The provision requires for you to use recycled water for certain purposes.
167:00 Orozco: So it’s part of this Report? Part of what the permit requires?
Adackapara: No. The Permit requires Title 22 Report be prepared prior to use the of recycled water.
170:00 Orozco: Is there cost associated by going out for a Permit?
Warsinski: The Permit itself doesn’t cost the City anything. The requirements outlaying the Permit of cost does, but those are the same requirements that were discussed at length during the Basin Plan Amendment process. This documents is the simple Permit that governs the City’s discharge and potential recharge of effluent treated by the treatment plant pursuant and under the guides of that Basin Plan Amendment. So this document doesn’t have any impact, which is why I wrote that there was No Impact. The impacts would be; we’ve already talked about them before. This document is consistent with the Basin Plan Amendment that was already approved by the Regional Board and supported by this City and all of the other stakeholders within this Basin and adjacent Basins.
173:00 Warsinski: What you’re referencing is the analysis for how to dispose of the Brine.
White: Correct.
Warsinski: That is true, we are reviewing the two proposals that came in on that project and that will be coming forward shortly. The overall big picture; got to build the desalter, how to get rid of the brine, we’re still determining, and that will be brought to Council for approval.
White: So this is a draft. Is there any way that we get the Title 22 compliance without going through this draft process?
Warsinski: Has nothing to do with it. The Permit is the permit to discharge. The Title 22 that I think we’re talking about is the validation process.
White: This is not part of that process?
174:00 Warsinski: No. The Report that Michael and his colleagues referenced are engineering reports that need to be submitted pursuant to this Permit. Once we get our Title 22 done at the Plant we have to do an engineering report telling the Regional Board how we plan on using it. Whether it’s purple pipes, whether we plan on using it with water trucks, for example, but it’s probably a bad example because it’s not likely. Sending it somewhere through a pipe, recharging it in a Basin.
White: So we’re not under this Order until we have Title 22 Compliance?
Warsinski: No, this Order’s going to occur and be approved by the Regional Board and we will be subject to all requirements in this Permit as soon as they approve it.
White: And you said earlier that we are in compliance, so we wouldn’t have any costs to get to that level that the Order is requesting us.
Warsinski: Now I’m…
Urtiaga: Can you say that again?
175:00 I asked you earlier that if this Order were in place now; would we be in compliance? And you said “yes”, so when the Order does come into being; we don’t have any costs to get us to the level of compliance we need to be?
Warsinski: Not at first. The Desalter. We have to build the Desalter, so if you want to say there’s an upfront costs the second that this is approved for for the Desalter, then that’s true. It was also true when the Basin Plan was approved over a year ago.
White: Does the Order indicate that we’d have a time limit to get other projects in place like the Desalter We will have that schedule that we approved in January, the 5-year schedule?
Warsinski: We have to build it and operate it is in five years, so 2020.
176:00 White: This just says Action: Receive and File.