Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, July 05, 2022
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION TO ACCEPT METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT PIPELINE ALIGNMENT ALONG SEPULVEDA BOULEVARD FOR ITS PURE WATER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROJECT (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (“MWD”) and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (“LACSD”) are embarking on Pure Water Southern California, formerly known as the Regional Recycled Water Program, to reuse wastewater currently discharged to the Pacific Ocean.
The Pure Water program would purify treated wastewater from LACSD’s Joint Water Pollution Control Plant, located in Carson, for reuse throughout Southern California. Purified water from the program may be used to recharge groundwater basins that are a source of drinking water for industrial purposes, and once regulations are developed for it, could provide another supply of water into MWD’s drinking water plants for delivery across the region. The program will produce 150 million gallons of purified water daily, enough for over 500,000 homes.
The Pure Water program includes several new facilities such as a new advanced water purification facility at the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant site and a new large-diameter pipeline, a portion of which would need to be in the public right-of-way in Carson.
MWD has been working for several years on alignment alternatives for the 84-inch pipeline that carries treated water from the LACSD’s Joint Plant in the City of Carson. MWD’s program is referred to as the Pure Water Southern California Program. Recently, a thorough analysis was completed by MWD and presented to the City which considered alignment alternatives through Carson. The analysis evaluated the pros and cons of each, which included time, disruption to local residents and businesses, and ways to minimize lost revenue. Based on the technical analysis, impacts, pros and cons, as well as schedule, it is recommended that the City accept the alignment in Sepulveda Boulevard.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. APPROVE the Sepulveda pipeline alignment
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1. REJECT the pipeline alignment in Sepulveda and request MWD to select another alignment
2. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
As part of the Pure Water Program, the entire conveyance system would consist of approximately 42 miles of 84-inch diameter pipeline, several pump stations, and additional appurtenant facilities to convey purified water from the new Advanced Water Purification Facility in the City of Carson to the Santa Fe Dam area for groundwater replenishment. A smaller pipeline would then convey purified water from the Santa Fe Dam area eastward for approximately 12 miles to Metropolitan’s Weymouth Water Treatment Plant to supplement drinking water supplies.
Approximately 6 miles of 84-inch diameter pipeline would traverse through the City of Carson, from Main Street and Sepulveda Boulevard eastward along Sepulveda Boulevard to Alameda Street and northerly along Alameda Street to Del Amo Boulevard. Construction duration for this portion of the alignment is anticipated to be several years starting in 2025. MWD’s conveyance team and team of consulting engineers have evaluated several potential pipeline routes through the City and have worked collaboratively with the City over the past several months to identify the most suitable alignment for this project. The alignment along Sepulveda Boulevard and Alameda Street is recommended because it offers the shortest construction duration with the least amount of interference with existing underground utilities, which in turn results in the least impact to residents and businesses in the City compared to all other alternatives considered. For those residents, small business, and shopping centers that may be impacted during this period of construction, Metropolitan is committed to working with the City. As much as practical, construction activities would be phased to minimize traffic impacts and to allow the contractor to complete work and restore the site as quickly as possible.
Other alternatives considered include Lomita Boulevard, Wilmington Avenue, Avalon Boulevard, Main Street, and Carson Street, as depicted in the presentation to the City Council on June 7, 2022. These alternatives are not recommended due to heavy underground utility congestion, heavy oil and gas pipeline presence, greater construction risk, extensive tunneling and secondary containment required in some areas, presence of mature trees in medians in several locations, and proximity to schools, residences, and businesses that would result in a greater impact to the community during construction.
The City will continue to work with the MWD team and make sure that MWD follows up with their commitment to local jobs, training for both construction and operations at the new treatment facility for Carson residents, financial impacts are mitigated for local businesses during construction and completing some of the heavy construction work prior to the 2028 Olympics.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Regional Recycled Water Program - City of Carson Pipeline Alignment Evaluation (pgs. 4-17)
2. Recommended Alignment Map (pgs. 18)
3. Pure Water Southern California Announcement (pgs. 19-20)
Prepared by: Eliza Jane Whitman, PE, LEED AP, ENV SP, Director of Public Works