It’s official – the City of Lathrop can now discharge its treated wastewater into the San Joaquin River.
For nearly five years the city has been seeking a permit through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System through the Environmental Protection Agency that would allow the city to discharge the treated effluent – the cleaned, filtered water that remains after the solids have been removed from sewage – directly in the San Joaquin River.
Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal announced last week that the city had obtained the permit.
In order to obtain the permit the city had to prove that the end result of its water treatment met the stringent standards set forth by the EPA, and by doing so will be able to not only save money by not having to purchase additional sprayfields but also by cutting the cost of new development that will ultimately save the public money.
According to Lathrop city manager Steve Salvatore, the approval will make 1,500 acres of land that would have been needed for ponds and sprayfields available for development – eliminating the $200 million expense associated with purchasing the land and generating additional revenue for the city by making more land available for development.
“The issuance of this permit by the state was the culmination of nearly five years of work by city staff, the city’s consultants and Water Board staff and represents a significant milestone in the city’s development. Obtaining a surface water discharge permit will facilitate continued growth in accordance with the city’s General Plan, which includes development of lands for residential, commercial, and industrial uses that otherwise would need to be used for wastewater storage and land disposal,” Salvatore said. “Without this discharge permit, the ultimate buildout of Lathrop would have required the construction of ponds and disposal fields that would have covered approximately 1,500 acres of prime development land at a cost well over $200 million.
“The most significant project benefits include long-term utility rate stabilization for our residents, avoidance of tens of millions of dollars in special taxes assessed on future properties and making development in Lathrop more desirable by reducing sewer connection fees.”
While a portion of Lathrop’s treated wastewater is already discharged into the San Joaquin River – Lathrop has a stake in the Manteca water treatment plant, which already has the permit – the expansion of the practice to the wider Lathrop community is expected to cut the cost of sewer disposal by $7,740 per new home and reduce the cost of building a new fast food restaurant by $60,000.
While the money savings and ability to make more land more available for development were attractive targets for Lathrop, getting the permit wasn’t an easy task. In addition to the environmental hurdles and processes that Lathrop had to clear in order to be granted approval, the city also had to ensure that dechlorination facilities were included in the consolidated treatment facility and a pipeline from the CTF to the river and a sewage outfall structure had to be constructed.
After all of the work that went in to achieving the longstanding goal, Salvatore said that he’s proud of his staff for remaining dedicated to ensuring the community benefit as well as the consultants and members of the development community that played a vital part.
“I want to thank my team of city staff, consultants, and developers for their expertise and efforts that facilitated achieving this milestone,” Salvatore said. “I also would like to thank the Water Board staff for working closely and efficiently with city staff and consultants in developing the permit and bringing it before the Water Board for adoption in a timely manner.”
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
