Camarillo leaders get 18‑month Phase 1A plan for major WRP upgrades; Jacobs to serve as owner advisor

Public Works Director David Klotzold opened a July 8 workshop for the City of Camarillo and the Camarillo Sanitary District on the Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) upgrades, calling the effort "the largest, most complex project in the history of the city and the CSD." Klotzold said the plant has been well maintained but that most components are "at or nearing the end of their useful life," and cited a 2022 master plan that identified alternatives now being evaluated.

Jacobs, serving as the owner advisor, described Phase 1A as a planning and decision‑support phase that will identify a preferred program pathway to present to the board. "Phase 1A is not design or construction," Jacobs program manager Zita Yu told the council, describing six work streams including program management, technical studies, environmental and regulatory analysis, financial/economic modeling, delivery methodology evaluation and targeted technical studies. Yu said the work will use a structured decision‑science process to screen alternatives, score shortlisted options against agreed criteria (regulatory feasibility, affordability, portfolio value, resilience) and recommend a preferred strategy, phasing and procurement approach for board consideration.

Eric Maple, the city’s water resources manager, summarized the regulatory landscape and warned that the impending NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) facility permit — which the team said is expected any day — could impose performance requirements that materially affect infrastructure needs. "The regional board can dictate certain performance requirements of the plant, which directly dictates the infrastructure required at the plant," Maple said.

Consultants from Fieldman Rollup and others outlined funding options and affordability modeling. Robert Poore said staff is considering a "mosaic" of funding tools — tax‑exempt bonds, SRF (State Revolving Fund) loans, WIFIA (a U.S. EPA program), variable‑rate bonds, interim notes and commercial paper — each with different pros and cons. Poore noted SRF applications can take more than 24 months and that the state has recently limited SRF loans to roughly $50,000,000 per borrower in some cases. He said WIFIA can amortize over 35 years and allow deferral of payments for up to five years but typically finances up to about 49% of a program’s capital cost.

Laura Nichols summarized the sanitary district’s affordability modeling and said the model produced a wide range of program capacity scenarios; she also stated the analysis includes an additional $130,000,000 in non‑WRP capital projects that would factor into funding and rate impacts. "We've analyzed that ranging from 150 to 3 30000000 is a program affordable capacity of the sanitary district," Nichols said (transcript wording as presented in the workshop); Nichols noted results will be refined as technical, regulatory and grant assumptions are finalized.

Board members asked practical questions on sizing, phasing and procurement. Council member Kildee asked whether Jacobs would confirm the ultimate plant capacity; Jacobs responded that determining capacity needs — balancing current use (about 3.5 million gallons per day) against the combined plant capacity (reported as 7,250,000 gallons per day) — is a core task of Phase 1A. Council members also pressed the team about schedule flexibility and about whether procurement strategy will be run concurrently with alternative selection; Jacobs said the project team plans staff workshops in July–August and anticipates bringing recommendations to the board later in the year, with some schedule adjustments possible as details are developed.

Communications and outreach plans were presented by city communications staff and RMG Communications. Peter Castles described a branding and long‑term engagement program; Rachel Dickman said early tactics will include an explainer video, a standalone project website, FAQs, plant tours and targeted outreach to diverse groups. Council members urged use of youth‑focused social platforms and simple explainer materials.

What’s next: Jacobs and staff will continue technical studies, regulatory reviews and financial modeling through Phase 1A, with milestone board workshops and recommended decision points planned over the coming 12–18 months. No formal action or selection of an alternative or procurement method was requested or taken at this workshop; the board remains the decision authority for any later approval.