Water Quality Committee OKs one-year extension for Reynolds facility biological monitoring contract

The Sweetwater Authority Water Quality Committee voted Feb. 20 to approve a one-year extension of the authority's biological toxicity monitoring contract for the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility discharge permit.

Staff member Justin told the committee the extension would let the authority meet permit monitoring requirements while it waits for a renewed discharge permit from the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The motion passed on a roll call with Directors Cox and Delgado voting yes and Director Martinez Perez absent.

The extension matters because the authority must carry out whole-effluent toxicity monitoring and other tests tied to its discharge permit. The current permit cycle began after the desalination expansion and discharge-line relocation completed; the authority said the existing permit became effective in 2017 and expired in 2022, and the regional board has not yet issued a replacement.

Justin said the authority has been…