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Riverside utilities outline $97M treatment program for PFAS; council approves strategy and rate approach
Summary
Riverside Public Utilities presented PFAS treatment options and estimated a three-plant solution at roughly $97 million plus $19 million per year O&M; council approved staff recommendations to use settlement proceeds and pursue bonding and grants while phasing rate increases over five years.
Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) staff updated the City Council on Oct. 28 about treatment strategies for per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), describing regulatory shifts, system testing and a proposed multi‑plant compliance program.
Robin Glenny, assistant general manager of water, explained that RPU's groundwater sources contain PFAS above newly proposed federal and state limits that will require treatment when maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) take effect. She said existing system blending keeps delivered water below current notifications but that high-demand seasons could push delivered concentrations above future MCLs.
Glenny described pilot testing and three treatment approaches recommended by consultants (granular activated carbon, ion exchange and other options). She said the first treatment plant design is under way and that settlement proceeds from PFAS manufacturers will provide initial funding. "We received our first PFAS settlement payment, and the second one is anticipated any day now," Glenny said.
Finance staff presented high-level cost estimates for three treatment plants of about $97 million in capital and about $19 million per year in operations and maintenance. They estimated financing costs could be reduced significantly by combining settlement proceeds and bond financing and said RPU expects to return next year with refined capital costs and a proposed water treatment surcharge. Staff projected a phased rate approach beginning after settlement proceeds: roughly 4% annual increases over five years (about 20% cumulative) starting as a volumetric charge to recover O&M and capital shortfalls unless additional funding is secured.
Council unanimously approved staff recommendations to establish a treatment reserve for settlement proceeds, proceed with design for the first ion‑exchange plant, pursue grants and financing, and return with refined costs and rate proposals within a year.
Staff also warned residents about door‑to‑door contractors falsely claiming municipal water is unsafe; council urged residents to rely on official RPU communications.
