Purpose & Need
Location of proposed Eastside Road Storage Project
(click to enlarge)
Project Goal
The goal of the Eastside Road Storage
Project is to provide essential storage of recycled water for the Town
of Windsor in a reliable, feasible manner that encourages the best use
of water resources and assures long-term recycled water supply, while
maintaining sensitivity to public health, the environment, and costs.
Thus, the Town’s purpose for the Project is not only to dispose of recycled
water, but to do so in a manner that facilitates reuse opportunities.
Although the need for the Project is closely tied to reuse and disposal
permit requirements, seasonal storage of recycled water for irrigation
also significantly contributes to the reduction of overall freshwater
demand in the Russian River, while minimizing potential impacts to the
environment.
Project Objectives
The Town of Windsor’s Eastside Road
Storage Project (ERSP) is intended to achieve the following objectives:
- Continue implementation of the Water Reclamation Master Plan to address the build-out ADWF of 3.0 mgd.
- Provide a minimum of 125 MG of additional recycled water storage capacity by water year 2012 (October 2011-September 2012).
- Provide the maximum pond storage capacity consistent with the Master Plan, in a cost-effective manner and in compliance with applicable regulations.
Background
To assess the future needs of the Town, a master
plan for water reclamation management was undertaken in the late 1990s.
The Water Reclamation Master Plan for Treatment, Storage and Disposal
was adopted in 2001 and the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was certified
as complete and in compliance with California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) in February of that year.
The ERSP (previously known as Pond T) was included in the Master Plan as the cornerstone of the selected program alternative (Alternative 4X) by the Town. In accordance with the Town Council’s direction, other program elements were pursued before the ERSP in order to defer significant and unavoidable impacts associated with that project, and to reflect other Town priorities for use of the Town’s recycled water system. However, due to problems and delays in implementing some of the other recycled water system alternatives, the Town now needs to move ahead with the ERSP.
Current Situation
Windsor is presently operating near the
overall rated capacity of the water reclamation system. In order to
reliably operate the system, including meeting irrigation demands of
existing recycled water customers, storage must be added.
In order to move forward with implementation of additional storage, the Town issued the ERSP Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (Draft SEIR) on May 22, 2008 to complete the environmental documentation required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). More information on the Draft SEIR can be found on the Project EIR page of this website.