DATE: January 25, 2022
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT
Title
Informational Item Regarding Marin Municipal Water District’s Proposal to Transmit Purchased Water Through the City’s Transmission Mains and the Regional Water System Intertie as a Drought Relief Measure
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Council receives this report on the Marin Municipal Water District’s (MMWD) proposal to transmit purchased water through the City’s transmission mains and Regional Water System Intertie as a drought relief measure.
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SUMMARY
Faced with a critical water shortage condition due to the previous years’ drought, MMWD reached out to Hayward staff in October 2021 regarding participation in MMWD’s proposed project to obtain water from a third party due to a drought emergency and transmit the water to the District’s services area. Of the four scenarios that MMWD is considering for conveyance of the imported water, the priority scenario involves use of the Regional Water System Intertie (Hayward Regional Intertie), operated by Hayward, and owned by the San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC) and East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). Under this priority scenario, water would be routed to Hayward for transfer to the EBMUD system, which would then convey the water to MMWD. Hayward staff are participating in meetings to ensure that the City’s interests are protected.
Staff have initially identified three principles under which Hayward could potentially participate in this effort:
1. Water quality would remain the same as that delivered to all SFPUC wholesale customers.
2. Water would flow in one direction only, north to EBMUD. If managed carefully, delivering water to EBMUD can be accomplished with minimal pumping and less impact on Hayward’s water distribution system.
3. Use of Hayward’s water conveyance system would not interrupt deliveries to its customers
If this project is implemented, there would be no fiscal or economic impact on Hayward. All costs would be borne by MMWD, including reimbursement to Hayward for costs incurred to prepare and operate the Hayward Regional Intertie.
Given the prospects of a severe drought, MMWD had not prepared an environmental review and instead relied on an exception due to the drought emergency. However, with a positive start to the water year and improved water supply storage, a drought emergency no longer exists, and the MMWD Board has determined that it is necessary to conduct a full environmental review of the project. That said, MMWD remains committed to this effort, and staff has prepared this report to update Council, particularly with regard to impacts on Hayward customers.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report