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Representatives from the California Department of Water Resources’ sustainable groundwater management grant program presented a $16 million grant check to Zone 7 Water Agency officials last week.
According to Zone 7, the money was granted to the water agency so that it could use the money to help fund its new state-of-the-art water treatment facility to remove PFAS, otherwise known as forever chemicals, from the Stoneridge groundwater well in Pleasanton.
“The Stoneridge project will help improve both water quality and water supply reliability for the residents and businesses in the Tri-Valley,” Zone 7 General Manager Valerie Pryor said in a press release from the DWR.
“The DWR grant funds will offset the local cost of this critical infrastructure upgrade, returning our most productive groundwater well to service and effectively removing these chemicals from our water,” she added. “We are deeply grateful for this partnership with DWR and the funds they have provided to support our sustainable groundwater use and help us to maintain healthy and safe drinking water for our community.”
On Sept. 13, Zone 7 celebrated the official opening of its Ion Exchange PFAS Treatment Facility, which uses tanks that are filled with small ion-exchange polymers, to attract PFAS chemicals in the water.
Once the chemicals are separated, through a process called the ion exchange treatment process, the facility then works to pump and deliver the now clean water to homes and businesses.
Since opening, the first-of-its-kind facility in Northern California has begun to help treat 6.6 million gallons of water per day and drinking water supplies in the area will also increase by 16%, according to the press release.
Zone 7 staff had been working on getting the facility up and running for over a year ever since the State Water Resources Control Board announced a new draft response level for a PFAS compound that put the Stoneridge well out of service.
Staff quickly sought out approval to purchase the vessel tanks that are now being used at the facility once that regulation went into effect in October 2022.
However, funding the facility was a big question early on as the total project had a value cost of $16.3 million. Initially, Zone 7 was planning on paying that off by using its water rates, but the day before the Sept. 13 opening ceremony Zone 7 had got the word that the DWR was going to be awarding the agency with the $16 million grant to help cover most of the cost.
According to DWR officials, the Stoneridge facility is one of 103 projects that received funding this year from the sustainable groundwater management grant program, which provides critical grant funding to help support the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
The facility is also one of the projects included in the state water department’s new Go Golden Initiative, which according to the press release, “highlights the partnership between the state of California and local organizations and water agencies to fund bold and innovative projects that strengthen California’s water infrastructure and community resilience.”
“Groundwater is a critical source of water for many communities in California, and it is more important than ever that we make investments to ensure these supplies are reliable and safe for those who depend on it,” said Paul Gosselin, DWR sustainable groundwater management deputy director. “It’s projects like these that are helping Californians get the water that they need.”
