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FLOW Committee hears phased Water Recovery Facility expansion as regulators eye tighter effluent limits
Summary
Guest speaker Jeff Berlin told the FLOW Committee the Water Recovery Facility needs phased upgrades to meet current nitrogen limits and anticipated stricter regulations for nutrients, temperature, metals and PFAS; Phase 1 is under construction and Phase 1B is in design to add load capacity.
Jeff Berlin, guest speaker from Carollo Engineers, briefed the Fiscal Leadership on Water (FLOW) Committee on the Water Recovery Facility expansion and its drivers, saying current daily limits on total inorganic nitrogen must be met and that regulators are likely to impose stricter limits for nutrients, temperature, metals and PFAS in coming years.
Berlin presented a five-phase Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) intended to address equipment reaching end of life (including the generator, centrifuges, flow equalization system and the anaerobic digestion complex) and to optimize a constrained site footprint. He said Phase 1 is currently under construction; Phase 1B, in design, will add load (BOD) treatment capacity, enhance the IFAS treatment process for nutrient removal, and replace key headworks and dewatering equipment. The overall plan spans roughly 15 years and staggers investments to spread financing needs, a choice that also increases total cost due to construction-cost escalation.
The committee was told that hydraulic (flow) expansion is not projected until the mid-2030s while load-treatment (BOD) capacity will be required sooner, in the early 2030s. Staff and the presenter framed the phasing as a balance between near-term treatment needs, limited site space and financing constraints.
The presentation emphasized that timing and scope of later phases depend on regulatory limits and load forecasts; no final funding decisions were made at the meeting. Committee members and staff discussed design constraints and the need to coordinate future phases with finance planning and Council-level rate decisions.
Next steps: Phase 1 construction continues and Phase 1B design will proceed; Finance will present rate and funding implications to the FLOW Committee and then to City and County Council later in the year.
