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Grant Davis, General Manager, Sonoma County Water Agency Hon. Mark Limbaugh, Managing Partner, The Ferguson Group Presented at the October 24, 2013 Texas Water Conservation Association Fall Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
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The North Bay Water Reuse ProgramNew Tools and Funding Options
Grant Davis, General Manager, Sonoma County Water Agency
Hon. Mark Limbaugh, Managing Partner, The Ferguson Group
October 24, 2013Texas Water Conservation AssociationSan Antonio
The North Bay Water Reuse Authority (NBWRA)
The Authority’s Program and what we’ve achieved
The Future of the NBWRA
New Tools and Funding Options
Overview
Located in Northern California, in the northern part of the Bay Area known as San Pablo Bay
Who are our members
What are the drivers that got us to work together
The North Bay Water Reuse Authority
NBWRA Program Area – Phases 1 & 2
NBWRA Member AgenciesCounties, Water and Sanitation Districts
Marin, Sonoma and Napa Counties
Marin Municipal Water District
North Marin Water District
Sonoma County Water Agency
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District
Novato Sanitary District
Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District
Napa Sanitation District
Dependence on water from adjacent watersheds, limited local surface supplies & groundwater
Surface water subject to drought year fluctuation
Reduced groundwater levels, impaired quality, & salt water intrusion
Competing demands on the resource from local communities, agriculture and the environment
Water Supply Challenges
Regulatory limits on treated wastewater discharge to the Bay
Restoration needs of 640 acres of tidalwetlands around the Bay
Reduced stream flow due to surface diversionsimpacts habitat and aquatic species
Environmental Challenges
Difficult to plan and implement projects individually
Impacts on agency staffing & expertise
Costs – planning, design, securing funding and construction
Limited political “know-how” to operate on a regional-scale
Institutional and Financial Challenges
NBWRA is a “virtual” Authority - organized under an MOU, the Sonoma County Water Agency acts as the fiscal agent
We have a 2-phased regional-scale recycling Program providing planning and project implementation support to member agencies
Phase 1 is a $104 million recycled water program delivering high quality water to urban, agricultural and environmental projects
The US Bureau of Reclamation is our partner in developing recycled water and is key to our success
The State of California is also a partner - our watershed approach is consistent with their Integrated Water Resources Planning program
The Program and What We’ve Achieved
We are a regional Program comprised of member agencies projects
We conduct studies from a watershed perspective detailing both project specific and programmatic benefits
The Authority allows members to share costs for planning, engineering and environmental studies they could not afford to conduct on their own
Our Approach - Economies of Scale
Members share costs for Program Development, Federal and State Advocates and have access to expertise often beyond the reach of small districts
Members share Program costs but implement their own projects and in turn, incrementally contribute toward regional supply reliability
Our Approach - Economies of Scale con’t.
The Program supply’s recycled water to meet diverse needs of the region; urban, agricultural and environmental
Through thoughtful design we often serve several of these users in one project; we call this the multi-benefit approach
This approach is consistent with and supported by the Federal and State agencies we partner with for project implementation
North Bay Water Reuse Program
Offset urban and agricultural demands on potable supplies and impacted groundwater basins
Enhance local and regional ecosystems
Improve local and regional water supply reliability
Maintain and protect public health & safety
Promote sustainable practices
Give top priority to local needs for recycled water
Implement facilities in economically viable manner
The Program’s objectives reflect this approach
2009 – Authorized under the US Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI Program for a 2-phased program and provided for $25 million in federal assistance for Phase 1 construction
2009 – Completed Phase 1 Feasibility and Environmental Studies
Program Milestones
Phase 1 is valued at $104 million and projects include:
o 46 miles of pipelines
o 100 AFY of storage
o 6.5 mgd of new tertiary treatment
o These projects deliver 3,800 AFY for irrigation and up to 1,700 AFY for environmental restoration
Program Milestones con’t.
The US Bureau of Reclamation has been key to our success:
o Provided 50% cost-share for Phase 1 studies totaling $3 million
o Authorized to provide up to $25 million for Phase 1 construction and to date have contributed:
• $7.3 million in ARRA grants
• $9.2 million in Title XVI WaterSMART grants
State of California Department of Water Resources:
o Provided $3.9 million in State Proposition’s 50 and 84 grants (water bonds)
Program Partners and Funding to Date
Initiated design and construction in 2009 and estimate completion in 2019
Phase 1 is currently at 66% completion
Cost of Phase 1 projects valued at $104 million
o Federal Reclamation Grants - $25 million
o State of California Grants - $7.8 million
o NBWRA members agency’s - $71.2 million
Phase 1 Implementation Summary
Currently completing Scoping Studies to “size” future feasibility and environmental studies
Process includes:
o Adding 2 new member agencies
o Clearly defining local agency and funding agency objectives
o Identifying and compiling member’s projects into conceptual alternatives
o Conceptual estimates of the scale of Phase 2 – currently $150-200 million
o Determining member’s financial commitment and ability to pay
o Defining the projects to be studied next in Title XVI feasibility studies
Where we are now: Shaping Phase 2
Phase 2 will build on the infrastructure developed in Phase 1
The critical component will be storage of recycled water for year-round use – Phase 1 used most of the summer water
Shaping Phase 2
Preliminary studies have identified:
o 28,000 AFY within the Program area
o 3,400 AFY or 12% is water available for summer use
o 24,600 AFY or 88% is winter water and needs to be stored
New member projects include:
o Treatment, storage, and distribution
o Stormwater and groundwater management
o Environmental enhancement
Shaping Phase 2 con’t.
Engineering, Program Development, Federal and State Advocacy teams work together
As Phase 2 projects are described, funding options are identified or developed to assist with project implementation
Funding information informs member’s decision making in selecting projects for Phase 2
Funding implementation strategy is specifically developed to support members as they transition from planning into project implementation
This iterative approach incorporates ongoing collaboration between Engineering, Program Development and Lobbyists and is key to our success – this is not a linear process
Phase 2 Requires New and Diverse Funding Tools
21st Century Reclamation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2013 (RIFIA)
New Tools and Funding Options
The RIFIA proposal aggregates and amends existing Reclamation authorities to provide assistance to the NBWRP and other water managers across the west
The tools:
o Federally Guaranteed Loans
o Transfer of Title of Reclamation Facilities or Elements of Facilities
o Integrated Regional Water Management and Regulating Storage Competitive Cost-Shared Grants
Three key “tools” addressed in RIFIA:
Offer new Reclamation financing tool for water infrastructure projects associated with Reclamation projects:
Loan guarantees to institutional investors to make loans to project sponsor
Credit assistance for up to 90% of total project costs with a repayment period of up to 40 years at Treasury interest rates
Bureau of Reclamation Guaranteed Loans
Projects eligible include water management and supply improvements, energy efficiency or hydropower, or other projects that meet other federal interests
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores the subsidy associated with the guarantee, which with water facilities has generally been around 2-3% (e.g. $3 million in appropriationsleverages about $100 million in federal loan guarantees).
Bureau of Reclamation Guaranteed Loans con’t.
Allow transfer of a Reclamation project to a non-federal entity where construction and other obligations have been paid out by non-federal project beneficiaries
Allow non-federal operating entity to obtain loan guarantee under RIFIA that does not constitute ‘third-party’ finance obligation (2-3% CBO score vs. 100% score)
Transfer subject to meeting (NEPA/ESA) requirements and no objection from committee of jurisdiction within 60-days of transfer
Transfer of Title AuthorityReclamation Facilities or Elements of Facilities
Allows participation with local water management entities to develop storage and conveyance associated with integrated water management and reuse projects
Provides authority to participate in projects with cost-shared grants of upto $15 million per project to be expended over five-year
Integrated Regional Water Management and Regulating Storage Grants
Outreach to Key Members of the Western Water Community
o TWCA meeting in San Antonio Oct 24
o Western States Water Council – webinar on Oct 3
o Assn of California Water Agencies
o National Water Resource Assn
o WateReuse
o Family Farm Alliance
The North Bay Water Reuse Authority invites you to consider joining them in supporting this proposed legislation
Building Support for RIFIA
