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Utilities staff proposes push to add reclaimed‑water customers as plant investments near $400M
Summary
Assistant Director Jason Chandra told council the city anticipates major capital investments across its wastewater plants and distribution network and plans to recruit willing, high-volume reclaimed-water customers rather than mandate connections; staff emphasized the ordinance does not require forced hookups.
Assistant Director of Public Utilities Jason Chandra gave a detailed briefing on the reclaimed-water distribution system, capacity and proposed outreach to new customers.
Chandra said the city currently has eight major reclaimed-water customers and about 60 miles of pipeline. "Our average day commitments, are 4,500,000 gallons, but typically on an annual average basis, we're only distributing about 3,000,000 gallons to those customers," he said. With plant expansions underway, the city expects to invest roughly $400 million over the next five years and wants to capture more customer demand to balance excess reclaimed capacity. He emphasized existing policy: "We are not going to force anyone to become customers of ours," and said staff will prioritize willing, high-volume partners and consider financing or amortizing capital costs to encourage take‑ons. Chandra gave a sample capital estimate for a customer connection (metering station ~$500,000; ~$1,000,000 pipeline; ~$1,500,000 total for a large 1,000,000‑gpd demand example) and discussed alternatives including revising construction/ownership approaches or adjusting rates to fund expansions.
