Napa County Water Quality: It's a Matter of Taste*

below. Looking forward, the City is in the planning stages for substantial and expensive Hennessey Water Treatment Plant upgrades beginning in 2022 with costs that will exceed $10 Million. These improvements, in part, will seek to address T&O issues. In addition, the City has also sponsored and undertaken a "Watershed Study and Monitoring and Analysis Plan" with implementation scheduled to start in fall 2019. This is a joint study with Napa County to sample water quality in the watersheds as winter runoff occurs into the reservoirs. The City recognizes the significance of the T&O issues and is actively working to address the root cause of these issues with watershed protection and the best available treatment techniques while remaining fiscally responsible to its customers. Grand Jury Report Finding 5 – Public Works officials countywide treat T&O and color issues as less important than Federal and State regulated contaminant standards, thereby minimizing T&O and color concerns in their water treatment standards and reporting. City Response – The City of Napa disagrees with this finding. The City recognizes the importance of T&O and color issues and consistently puts forth extensive efforts and resources to manage source water and the treatment process to reduce T&O. Examples of these proactive efforts include: Optimize Ozone treatment at Barwick Jamieson Water Treatment Plant • Optimize potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) treatment at Hennessey Water Treatment Plant (HTP) Alternate tower valves to optimize source water inflow to HTP and Milliken Water Treatment Plant (MTP) • Switch treatment plants to serve the highest quality water when operationally feasible Operate an air injection system near the Lake Hennessey intake tower Monitor, analyze, and speciate algae in Lake Hennessey and Milliken Reservoirs Apply PAK27 algaecide to control algae in Lake Hennessey and Milliken Reservoir Analyze for geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) T&O compounds Optimize the chlorine residual according to source water quality Ensure rapid water storage tank turnover within the distribution system to • alleviate water age. Both color and odor are State and Federally regulated secondary drinking water contaminants as listed in Title 22 Code of Regulations, Division 4. Environmental Health, Chapter 15. Domestic Water Quality and Monitoring Regulations, Article City Hall: 955 School Street, Napa CA 94559 | Malling Address: P.O. Box 660, Napa CA 94559 | (707) 257-9500 | www.cityofiapa.org City of Napa Response to 2018-2019 Napa County Grand Jury Final Report entitled "Napa County Water Quality: It's a Matter of Taste" 16. Secondary Drinking Water Standards. The City must and does provide drinking water with color less than the maximum contaminate level (MCL) of 15 units. Additionally, the City must and does provide drinking water with odor less than 3 Threshold Odor Number (TON) units. The City of Napa is required to notify the SWRCB and its customers through the annual water quality report when regulatory standards are not met. Information about Secondary Drinking Water Standards may be found at the Division of Drinking Water's website: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/Chemicalco ntaminants.html. As referenced by the SWRCB, the City of Napa meets and often exceeds drinking water standards. Grand Jury Report Finding 6 – All municipalities lack formal written procedures for the handling of water quality complaints. <u>City Response</u> – The City of Napa partially disagrees with this finding. While the City does not have a formal written procedure for handling water quality complaints, the City does have resources and protocols in place to guide staff in responding to complaints. The City uses reference materials published by the American Water Works Association including Handling Water Quality Complaints, Plain Talk About Drinking Water, Water Quality Complaint Investigator's Field Guide and Diagnosing Taste and Odor Problem Field Guide. Staff are advised of water system information and internal communication of system operations regarding the source in use. The City uses its website and social media to inform customers of source water usage and operational changes when it notices increased inquiries from customers. Since customer tastes are subjective, and inquiries are often due to issues on the customer side of the meter including hot water heater failures, unknown and unmaintained water softeners and water filters, personal communication is the most effective means of troubleshooting so as to understand descriptions of water T&O variations. The aforementioned protocols and guides are used to remain consistent in the handling of water quality complaints from customers. The City tracks and reports all received water quality complaints as required by Title 22 Code of Regulations, Chapter 17. Surface Water Treatment, Article 6. Reporting. The City strives to ensure uniform handling of water quality T&O inquiries. It should be noted that because T&O is subjective, two customers may describe their observations of the same glass of water very differently. Grand Jury Report Finding 7 - There are large disparities in household drinking water and wastewater rates between the municipalities, with smaller up-valley cities in Napa County paying much higher costs for the same amount of residential drinking water and wastewater. City Response - The City of Napa agrees with this finding. City Hall: 955 School Street, Napa CA 94559 | Mailing Address: P.O. Box 660, Napa CA 94559 | (707) 257-9500 | www.cityofnapa.org City of Napa Response to 2018-2019 Napa County Grand Jury Final Report entitled "Napa County Water Quality: It's a Matter of Taste" Grand Jury Report Finding 8 - Residents of mobile home parks, gated communities and apartment buildings do not always receive communication about water quality or T&O issues - rather owner/operator/manager of the site receives required water quality notifications and is not required to pass the notification on to individual residents. <u>City Response</u> – The City of Napa agrees with this finding. The City notifies the individual and/or entity on record for the metered connection and makes a good faith effort to reach consumers who are served and are not bill- paying customers, such as renters or workers within the City. Additionally, all customers who have concerns about their water quality, including T&O issues, are able to contact the Water Division office for additional information. Furthermore, Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) from 2012 to present are readily available on the City's website: http://www.cityofnapa.org/672/Water-Quality-Report while the most current CCR is available at the Water Division office, Community Service Building, and City Hall. Grand Jury Report Recommendation 1 – Each Napa County municipality's Department of Public Works explain on its City and/or Department of Public Works website, in water invoices, via social and other local media, what ongoing water quality tests are taken, where and when they are taken, and what is required if results do not meet USEPA and State standards. Each of Napa County's five Department of Public Works should implement these actions no later than June 30, 2020. <u>City Response</u> – This recommendation has been implemented, in part. Additional portions of this recommendation have not yet been implemented, but will be implemented by June 30, 2020. The City will enhance the water quality page on its website to include regulatory detail of the extensive water quality tests that are taken throughout the water system. If results do not meet USEPA and State standards, customers will be notified through some combination of radio, Nixle alerts, official website posts, email blasts, social media, and roadside message sign boards as appropriate to the situation. For example, notifications were made for pre-cautionary boil water notices in select areas affected by the 2014 South Napa earthquake and in October 2017 when pump stations were burned, the system was temporarily de- pressurized and the quality of the water could not be guaranteed. The City lifted the notice after confirmation sampling proved the water was safe to drink and met all USEPA and State standards in the compromised areas. Currently, the City regularly publishes information about water quality, hydrant flushing, water conservation, infrastructure improvements, et cetera on the City's website and social media platforms. The annual drinking water quality report, City Hall: 955 School Street, Napa CA 94559 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 660, Napa CA 94559 (707) 257-9500 www.cityofnapa.org City of Napa Response to 2018-2019 Napa County Grand Jury Final Report entitled "Napa County Water Quality: It's a Matter of Taste" posted on the City's website, details drinking water quality as mandated by the SWRCB and EPA. Additionally, the City annually hosts "Tap Water Day" events at the Barwick Jamieson Canyon Water Treatment Plant where individuals from the community are welcomed to tour the facility, participate in educational discussions, view informational posters and PowerPoint presentations, and meet and talk with staff. Grand Jury Report Recommendation 2 - Each Napa County municipality's Department of Public Works advise citizens of known and anticipated T&O and color issues by notices on its Department of Public Works website and within social media and news media. Each of Napa County's five Department of Public Works should implement these actions no later than June 30, 2020. <u>City Response</u> – This recommendation has been implemented. When deemed appropriate and necessary, the City provides information about T&O and color issues via the City's website, social media platforms and the media. For example, there was an unprecedented T&O incident in 2009 in the State Water Project source water. Staff responded to the incident with customer outreach, intense action to flush the pipelines, and a letter to the Editor to describe the incident, what occurred, and how it will be prevented in the future. For more routine events, the City will often engage on social media like Facebook and Napa Nextdoor to provide citizens with up to date information on customers concerns with T&O issues. Grand Jury Report Recommendation 3 - Each Napa County municipality's Department of Public Works identify, evaluate and estimate water treatment process improvements and longer-term capital improvement programs that could mitigate T&O and color issues in their respective water treatment operations. Each of Napa County's Department of Public Works should implement these actions no later than June 30, 2020 for the 2021/2022 budget year. City Response - This recommendation has not been implemented but will be implemented in the future in the timeframe summarized below. The City recognizes the significance of the T&O issues and is actively working to address the root cause of these issues. While the City recognizes the desire for the prompt implementation of these recommendations, the established time frame for the actions described below are beyond the 2021-2022 budget year specified in the recommendation. The proposed actions consist of a long-term study and multi-year construction projects, which rely in part on future water rate setting procedures. City Hall: 955 School Street, Napa CA 94559 Mailing: Address: P.O. Box 660, Napa CA 94559 (707) 257-9500 www.ddvgfnapa.org City of Napa Response to 2018-2019 Napa County Grand Jury Final Report entitled "Napa County Water Quality: It's a Matter of Taste" Since 2017, the City has been working with the County under a joint MOU to develop a computer model and monitoring plan throughout the tributaries of the Hennessey and Milliken watersheds to further understand runoff into the reservoir across varied land uses. The long-term goal is to understand natural and manmade changes throughout the watershed that may affect the quality of source water such that the City and County can readily identify problem areas and work with stakeholders to protect source water. In conjunction with the County, the City expects to implement a sampling and analysis plan at numerous sites in both watersheds in October 2019. Data will be gathered for 2 to 3 years and will inform appropriate next steps. The City has funds budgeted in fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 to start the pre-design process for potential improvements to the Hennessey Water Treatment Plant, which will in part address seasonal T&O issues. In FY 2020-2021 the City plans to update the 20-year Master Plan for Water System Capital Improvements that must balance treatment, transmission and distribution pipeline investment needs. The Plan will include a companion long- term financing plan to construct improvements. Upgrades to the Hennessey Treatment Plant are a major undertaking that will require a bond issuance to be financed across generations of water rate payers that will benefit from the infrastructure. Water rates, subject to the Proposition 218 process, are scheduled to be reviewed and calculated in FY 2021-2022. Should water rate adjustments be approved sufficient to construct the improvements, upgrades to the Hennessey Treatment Plant will employ the best available treatment techniques. Coupled with long-term source water protection and reservoir water quality management, treatment upgrades will more effectively address T&O as well as meet everchanging and more restrictive water quality regulations. Grand Jury Report Recommendation 4 – Each Napa County municipality's Department of Public Works publish T&O and color quality measures and results as part of their Annual Consumer Confidence Water Quality Report provided to citizens. Each of Napa County's Department of Public Works should implement this action in the 2019 Report published by June 30, 2020. <u>City Response</u> – This recommendation has been implemented. Both color and odor are State and Federally regulated secondary drinking water contaminants as listed in Title 22 Code of Regulations. The regulation for secondary standards requires any detected contaminants to be included in the Annual Consumer Confidence (CCR) Water Quality Report. The SWRCB Division of Drinking Water mandates report content. If the results of color and odor testing are below the detection level set by the State, they will not be published in the CCR per State requirements. City Hall: 955 School Street, Napa CA 94559 | Mailing Address: P.O. Box 660, Napa CA 94559 | (707) 257-9500 | www.diyofnapa.org City of Napa Response to 2018-2019 Napa County Grand Jury Final Report entitled "Napa County Water Quality: It's a Matter of Taste" In addition to publishing required data in the CCR, the City will publish odor and color quality measures and results on the water quality page of the website, by June 30, 2020, as identified in Recommendation 1. The City understands the intent of Recommendation 4 is to make odor and color data available to the public and the water quality page on the website will achieve this with more content and timely data than would be allowed under State regulations in the CCR. Grand Jury Report Recommendation 5 - Each Napa County municipality's Department of Public Works establish a formal written complaint policy identifying how complaints should be received, processed, tracked, and responded to, and reported, including a written complaint notice to be issued for every complaint. Each of Napa County's Department of Public Works should implement these actions no later than June 30, 2020. City Response - With respect to establishing a formal written complaint policy, this