The City of SAN Diego Todd Gloria Mayor December 30, 2022 Honorable Michael T. Smyth Presiding Judge of the Superior

Traditional public relations and/or educational outreach is not improving public and political support for wastewater and stormwater reuse as potable water. The Public awareness of the Pure Water Program is limited. Response: The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department disagrees with the Grand Jury’s finding. Outreach for the Pure Water program began in the early 2010s and has continued to grow and garner public support since. As of 2022, 18,700 people have toured the Pure Water Demonstration Facility in person and 12,700 people have viewed the virtual tour which was created in response to facility tour restrictions related to the COVID- 19 pandemic. Additional metrics on the Pure Water Program’s public outreach efforts as of 2021 include: presentations to more than 19,864 community members, 949 community presentations, 285 community events, 96 educational group and classroom presentations, over 28,000 interactions on social media, and 224,000 website visits. In addition to these metrics, the Pure Water Program has a social media presence on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and is part of the display at the Ruben H. Fleet Science center which sees thousands of visitors annually. Aside from the program-wide public outreach about, the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department conducts focused outreach efforts aimed at communities and businesses that are affected by construction of the Pure Water Phase I project. The City of San Diego is well-versed in education and outreach which is reflected by the numerous awards and recognition for its educational programs and its contributions to the water industry awarded by agencies and organizations throughout the United States (https://www.sandiego.gov/public-utilities/sustainability/pure-water-sd/awards). In addition to public education and awareness, the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department has invested heavily in stakeholder engagement efforts. In 2014, the Department assembled the Pure Water Working Group (“Working Group”) which is comprised of a diverse group of stakeholders including representatives from community planning groups, businesses, City Council district offices, nonprofit environmental organizations, and community leaders. The Working Group is an active partner and has provided feedback on the program elements such strategy, reviewed findings associated with costs and rates, and made key recommendations to provide input and viewpoints on the Department’s Pure Water efforts. Additionally, many environmental groups, businesses, community leaders, and other local organizations have pledged their support for the project. The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department disagrees with the finding that traditional public relations and/or educational outreach is not improving public and political support for stormwater reuse as potable water. The City of San Diego Public Attachment 1 Utilities Department and Storm Water Department are in the nascent stages of evaluating the viability of stormwater reuse for potable water purposes, thus public relations and educational outreach efforts are not currently underway. If the evaluation of stormwater as a potable water source proves viable, the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department believes that the existing public relations and/or educational outreach efforts, as effectively utilized by the Pure Water Program, will be successful in garnering public support and increasing awareness of stormwater as a potable water source. The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department believes that the existing public relations and educational outreach approach has been and will continue to be successful in raising public awareness and support for the Pure Water Program.

The California State Water Resources Control Board is developing regulations for potable reuse. In 2014, Board’s Division of Drinking Water finalized groundwater replenishment regulations, which were incorporated in the recycled water-related regulations. In 2017, Assembly Bill 574 was signed into law and established a deadline of December 2023 for initial State Direct Potable Reuse regulations. Response: The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department agrees with the Grand Jury’s finding. Additionally, it should be noted that in March 2018, the California State Water Resources Control Board adopted regulations for Surface Water Augmentation under Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR). These regulations are the ones that govern the first phase of the City’s Pure Water program with release of purified water to Miramar Reservoir. The City provided demonstration facility data and worked closely with the Water Board as the Board developed the Surface Water Augmentation regulations and is continuing the same approach with the Board’s development of the Direct Potable Reuse regulations, which may apply to the second phase of the Pure Water program.

The implementation of SB-552 is important for small water suppliers in rural areas. Recently approved State of California legislation encourages the development of water shortage strategic plans and encourages administrative funding to mitigate the impact of drought and to promote water resiliency and water re-use. Response: The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department agrees with the Grand Jury’s finding. RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS: