Menlo Park Needs a Water Management Plan

By Kristin Duriseti

Menlo Park needs a responsible water management plan that will address the long-run needs of our residents. A variety of strategies should be considered, ranging from on-site water collection and use to large-scale infrastructure investments in dual-pipe water reclamation and recycling; emergency storage should be included as well.

The overnight rain that fell in Menlo Park on September 25 was a welcome relief from the long, dry days of summer. But the modest .77 inches our City logged that day should not detract attention from the fact that Menlo Park, like all of California, is in the third year of a severe, on-going drought. It's not the first extended drought that we have experienced, nor will it be the last, and predicted changes in climate portend a reduction of over 50% in the snow-pack that feeds the Hetch Hetchy system from which Menlo Park draws the vast majority of its potable water. A community can make do without lots of things, but it can't be a vibrant place to live and work without water. This is why a responsible, long-term water management plan at the local and regional level should have been at the top of our City's priority list even before this drought started. Instead of a reactive, "back-of-our-heels" approach, we need a proactive, forward-looking plan that will give our community greater resilience and water security for the future.

I have served on the Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) for six years. Over two years ago, our Commission recommended to the City Council that Menlo Park develop a Water Demand Management plan. This was spurred by a request from the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club to gain access rights to potable water from Menlo Park's underground water aquifer in exchange for provision of the piping infrastructure, which also could be used to water our city parks. While it was understandable that the Country Club would seek long-term solutions to meet their water needs, I argued that any decision to grant the golf course access to our aquifer would be premature without a city-wide Water Demand Management policy. The EQC made this recommendation to the Council in 2013 and nothing was done. We made this recommendation again in 2014, and the Council finally moved forward on a Water Demand Management study, but did not put the golf course's proposed project out to pasture. This is puzzling, especially given the overwhelming level of resident opposition.

Menlo Park is facing pressure from the Water District to reduce our reliance on the Hetch Hetchy supply, but I believe that we should pursue conservation and recycling alternatives before tapping into our aquifer, which might seem a relatively inexpensive option in the short run, but compromises the long-term viability of this valuable water source. The aquifer should be treated as a reserve account and considered as a water resource of last resort, sort of like the principal on your retirement savings account or an endowment. Before letting the Country Club take out large amounts of water, we must first gain a clear idea of the balance in our water "savings account," establish priorities for our City's future use of potable water, and consider how we might effectively recharge the aquifer. To do otherwise is not wise, and it is certainly not good governance.

A fortunate turn of events are recent discussions between the Water District and the Sharon Heights Country Club to study the possibility of sending reclaimed water to the country club for on-site treatment and use of non-potable water for landscaping irrigation. This is exactly the kind of creative solution that is appropriate for the end use. This solution was not reached through discussions with the city staff or council members. This solution was explored only after strong resident opposition made it clear that accessing the aquifer was not going to be an easy option. Instead of using countless hours of staff time in discussions with the Country Club, I would have made it clear from the outset that the City would have to evaluate our comprehensive needs first.

The aquifer by itself is an inadequate source of emergency water supply. Therefore, Menlo Park needs to increase the availability of reliable and immediately accessible emergency water storage. Our City only has one storage tank (just west of 280). The Council needs to make it a priority to move forward with storage alternatives, similar to the one just completed in Palo Alto under the El Camino Park at the intersection of El Camino Real and Sand Hill. To supplement these large-scale projects, I would like to see our City also support efforts to provide on-site water storage containers as recommended by the Menlo Park Fire District Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Menlo Park's current water reduction programs (rebates for high-efficiency washer, low-flow toilets and showers, "Lawn-be-gone" and alternative landscaping consultations, etc.) are popular, but we are overdue for more solutions. A symbolic first start could be to provide at-cost rain barrels, similar to the composting bins that were available when I first moved here, but the real opportunity lies in encouraging on-site grey water capture and re-use. Our City should be providing incentives as well as information at the planning department counter for residential and commercial development projects. Grey water projects install separate plumbing ("purple pipes") for water from showers, bathroom sinks, and washing machines that can be used on-site in secondary capacities (e.g., landscaping or toilets). On-site rain water capture and storage for landscaping should be encouraged, as this also saves the City costs on storm water runoff capture. Our city should also consider the advisability of separate meters and rates for using potable water on landscaping, which would mitigate the need for expensive monitoring and fines that the City is now forced to implement in response to state mandated water usage reductions. Voluntary approaches and incentives should be emphasized, but today's leaders also need to lay the groundwork for conversations around regional coordination for installation of "purple pipes" to replace single-sewer pipes with dual pipes that would accommodate recycling water for non-potable uses, which would require long-term planning for significant capital investment. Unfortunately, Menlo Park has not been at the forefront of confronting these obvious challenges.

Menlo Park needs to take a leadership position by laying the groundwork for regional plans to expand future water sources, such as aquifer recharge, recycled water, grey water systems with purple pipe infrastructure, and perhaps ultimately, desalination. These solutions will require coordinated, long-term planning for significant capital investment. In contrast to our community's relative success in reducing our stream of solid waste (we now divert nearly three-quarters of our residential waste from landfill), we are woefully behind in reducing our water usage, despite over a decade of evidence pointing to the urgent need for water conservation. An orderly phase-in of a thoughtful and thorough water management policy will result in more efficient and cost-effective measures than reactive, ex post facto responses.

Finally, there is growing consensus that effective water management requires integration with land use planning and regional cooperation to coincide with the natural scale for water management. I am a member of the Advisory Committee for Menlo Park's General Plan Update and see this as is a perfect opportunity to incorporate water management goals explicitly into the planning process by including a "Water Element" that would strengthen the connection between land use and water demand and ensure that plans for growth take into account projected water supply.

There is much we can do at the city level to address both the short and long-term water crisis. Certainly, we can all do our part to conserve water, but as individuals we cannot be effective on our own. We need a coordinated, city-wide response. We need strong leadership to take immediate and continuing action to put Menlo Park on the path towards more sustainable usage of our precious water resources.

Kristin Duriseti, Ph.D. Environmental Quality Commissioner Menlo Park City Council Candidate