Feds' $6 million would help Petaluma reuse wastewater

<p>Recycled wastewater is used for irrigating Petaluma golf courses, dousing fires and flushing some toilets. Now city leaders are hopeful that $6 million in federal money will soon be in the pipeline to further expand the city's water reuse efforts.</p><p>The House of Representatives this month passed a bill that would provide money for two Petaluma projects in addition to $38 million for seven other water recycling programs in the Bay Area.</p><p>“Our two projects are designed and ready to go,” said Mike Ban, the city's director of water resources. “The timing on this is really good for us.”</p><p>Ban said the city's long-term goal is to reuse 400 million gallons of treated wastewater a year, which would free up that much potable water.</p><p>At the city's new Ellis Creek wastewater treatment facility, about 500,000 gallons of recycled water is used on-site each day for processing water, landscape irrigation – including the building's “living roof” – fire protection and toilet flushing.</p><p>For a quarter of a century, the city has used secondary-treated recycled water to irrigate agricultural lands and golf courses. The new facility treats wastewater to the higher tertiary level, allowing the water to be used to irrigate parks and athletic fields.</p><p>The $6 million in the federal bill is planned for two expansion projects of current recycling efforts: a 2.2 million gallon reservoir in the hills off East Washington Street and 7,600 feet of pipe from the treatment plant to the reservoir.</p><p>Assuming the bill passes the Senate and becomes law, Mayor Pam Torliatt said the money will be put to good use.</p><p>“We're absolutely thrilled that we've been able to obtain another $6 million to pump into our local economy and help with our recycled water project,” she said. “It's going to have multiple benefits, including offsetting our potable water supply and offsetting costs to the ratepayer.”</p><p>Ban said the cash-strapped city is continuing to seek additional funding for the two projects. He said the total cost would be about $10 million and the projects could be operational in two to three years.</p><p>Tertiary treated wastewater would be piped to the reservoir, which is now an elevated open space. Using gravity to pressurize the water coming back down, it would then be piped back into distribution, Ban said.</p><p>The bill was received in the Senate last week and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.</p>