PLEASANTON – The city has paused its Treatment and Wells Rehabilitation Project for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or forever chemicals, in order to take stock of a changing state regulatory system and a recent period of historically high inflation.
City councilmembers, mindful of time-limited funding options and the importance of the city’s groundwater sources, agreed to the pause with some hesitation at their Sept. 6 meeting.
“I’m not going to agree to pause it unless all five of us (councilmembers) say this is our number one priority and everything else, unless it’s health or safety for our residents, takes a back seat,” said Councilmember Kathy Narum prior to the Sept. 6 vote.
The council voted unanimously to pause the project.
While City Manager Gerry Beudin recognized the gravity of pausing “on a project where we’ve invested a significant amount of public funds in a project we ultimately need,” he viewed the project’s next steps, some $7.6 million in treatment-vessel and well-casing purchases, as a point of no return.
“We’re at the cusp of being on the path to be in the water-treatment business,” he said.
PFAS describes a family of several thousand synthetic chemicals that became popular during the second half of the twentieth century for their ability to resist heat, water and oils. Manufacturers incorporated these chemicals into a slew of household products ranging from nonstick cookware and water-resistant clothes to carpets and cosmetics, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The chemicals, however, have since found their way into groundwater sources, and peer-reviewed scientific studies now suggest PFAS exposure may lead to reproductive harm, developmental harm and some cancers.
Pleasanton, which owns and operates three groundwater wells that make up 20% of the city’s water supply, found PFAS in all three of its wells in 2019. Based on state advisory levels at the time, the city shut down one of these wells and began planning for a system-wide treatment solution.
Since then, the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment has added two of the more common PFAS chemicals – perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) – to the Proposition 65 list of cancer-causing chemicals. PFOS was added in December 2021 and PFOA in February 2022.
While the city council authorized staff last June to proceed with the final design of a PFAS treatment facility, including capacity and distribution improvements, city staff now want to explore project alternatives, such as locating new wells in less contaminated areas, sourcing all Pleasanton water from Zone 7 – the regional water wholesaler – or purchasing water from farther afield on the open market.
“A changing regulatory environment will continue to add uncertainty and potential liability to the city as it will be responsible for contaminant removal from the water it produces,” read the staff report. “Acceptable contaminant levels are declining and may require continual changes in treatment techniques and technologies to meet requirements.”
Todd Yamello, utilities planning manager, said the city is expecting advisory levels for additional PFAS chemicals in January that may prompt actions as severe as suspending the city’s remaining two wells.
“If we’re above (the advisory levels), we’d have to either take our water wells out of operation, or if we continue to operate, you have to notify the public,” Yamello added.
Pleasanton has already spent $2 million of its $4.3 million budget on the estimated $46 million project. This estimated cost, however, dates back to June 2021, and the city now anticipates a price increase some 30% higher due to “recent inflation trends on the bidding market,” according to the staff report.
The city has applied with the state for a low-interest $30 million loan and for a $5 million grant to help fund the project. But while a project pause, said Yamello, would probably not affect the city’s chances of securing the loan, it would likely cause the city to lose the grant money.
Staff resisted council pressure to provide a firm timeline for the pause’s end, but agreed that time is running out.
“(These wells) were built in the ’60s,” said Beudin. “There’s a possibility that they could fail at any time. We’re in a position where we will have to find a solution to our near-term water needs with or without the contamination issues.”
