Recycled Water Policy Salt and Nutrient Management Plans

Recycled Water Policy Salt and Nutrient Management Plans Ken Harris Manager, Regulatory Section State Water Resources Control Board ACWA Spring Conference 2010 May 5, 2010 1

California Water Supply Challenges Limited supply Climate change effects Increasing water demand Residential use Industrial use Agricultural use Aquatic ecosystem needs 2

Ways to Meet These Challenges Water use efficiency Agriculture Urban Water right transfer Urban runoff management Infiltration of storm water to groundwater Protection of recharge areas Storage/Conveyance/Conjunctive Use Surface water Groundwater Improved conveyance Desalination Water recycling 3

Recycled Water Use 450 – 580 Thousand Acre-feet Year (2002) 4

Potential Recycled Water Use Source: 2009 California Water Plan Update 5

Challenges to Increasing Recycled Water Use Infrastructure costs Water quality concerns Public perception Policy/Regulatory requirements 6

State Water Board Policies and Permits Recycled Water Policy (Feb. 2009) Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements-Landscape Irrigation Permit (July 2009) 7

Recycled Water Policy Goals and mandates for recycled water use Salt/nutrient management plans Landscape irrigation Groundwater recharge Antidegradation analysis procedures Constituents of emerging concern Incentives 8

Salt/Nutrient Management Plans For all groundwater basins Stakeholders prepare the salt/nutrient management plans Regional Boards adopt implementation plans based on the salt/nutrient management plans as basin plan amendments 9

Salt/Nutrient Management Plans must include: Implementation plan Monitoring plan, including constituents of emerging concern CEQA analysis Scientific peer review (H&S Code Sec. 57004) Plans must consider: All sources of salts and nutrients Basin hydrogeology Recycled water use and storm water recharge 10

Salt/Nutrient Management Plans State Water Board staff preparing draft document templates for Regional Boards’ basin planning process (May 10, 2010 draft release) Purpose is to streamline process Documents will create a standardize basin plan framework, but allow for regional flexibility Documents content will be linked to ensure they support next step in basin planning process, and inform Regional Boards and stakeholders

Salt/Nutrient Management Plans Documents designed to accommodate range of basin and salt/nutrient plan complexity Can accommodate additional water quality issues Documents include: Standardized basin plan list of ground water basins and associated beneficial uses Basin plan amendment in table format Environmental analysis with check list Regional Water Board Staff Report Suggested S/N plan table of contents to support the Regional Board’s process.

Salt/Nutrient Management Plans Envision 3 types of basin plan amendments, characteristics include: Individual Plan-basin large in size, complex land-use, heavily used, water quality threatened or currently impaired. High Saline Plan-coastal basins with high TDS not currently used as a source of water, and interior saline basin (SB Policy 88 -63) No Threat Plan-basins with minimal or no known current threat to water quality-address all within a Region with single basin plan amendment

Future Activities State Water Board consideration of recommendations from constituents of emerging concern (CEC) advisory panel -planned for Nov 2010 Continue working with DWR to allow Prop 84 funds to be used for development of salt/nutrient management plans Collection of information on recycled water use State Water Board Information Item Planned for July 6, 2010 Implementation of the Recycled Water Policy Status of Salt/Nutrient Management Plans 14

Contact Information Liz Haven, Assistant Deputy Director lhaven@waterboards. ca. gov (916) 341 -5457 Ken Harris, Manager kharris@waterboards. ca. gov (916) 341 -5500 Jagroop Khela, Water Recycling Ombudsperson jkhela@waterboards. ca. gov (916) 341 -5560 Mailing Address: 1001 I Street, 15 th Floor Division of Water Quality State Water Resources Control Board Sacramento, CA 95814