Pleasanton approves new project in bid to solve drinking water issues

The Pleasanton City Council will pay an environmental firm to develop water supply alternatives.

Potentially dangerous chemicals have been detected in Pleasanton’s drinking water, and the City Council is looking at ways to solve the problem.

In 2019, long-lasting chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or  PFAS, were found in the city’s groundwater supply facilities, leading the city to shut down one of its three wells. Exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to serious health issues such as kidney and testicular cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Water from the other two of the city’s wells, which supply 20% of Pleasanton’s drinking water, is considered safe, according to federal standards. However, they have PFAS levels that sit right below the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended safety threshold.

The other 80% of Pleasanton’s water is purchased from the Zone 7 Water Agency.

To tackle the PFAS problem, the City Council originally set up a treatment and well rehabilitation project. However, council members paused the project in September to evaluate other options because of the project’s $46 million price tag.

In a meeting on Tuesday night, council members agreed that the city would enter into a $263,755 contract with environmental firm Brown and Caldwell to develop a list of options for what to do next.

The city’s water fund will also provide up to $100,000 to cover legal services associated with the project.

The options will be broken into two categories. The first will look at ways in which the city might continue to use its groundwater pumping system, for example by restarting the existing PFAS treatment project or examining the potential for new wells. The other option is to purchase all of the city’s water supply.

The consultants will have until December 2023 to come up with a recommended plan of action, and the council will be briefed on its progress on a quarterly basis, with the first briefing due in February.

A formal public outreach element was not included in the contract, which concerned Councilmember Kathy Narum. “Ultimately, whatever we end up doing, our water rates are going up a lot,” she said during Tuesday night’s council meeting.

City Manager Gerry Beaudin responded by saying that the city will inform residents of updates.

“We’ll make sure that we have direct outreach so that people know what’s happening along the way,” Beaudin said.

The city also plans to ask Zone 7 for a multi-year plan going forward, rather than asking for the city’s water allocation annually.

“We probably won’t have a solution in a year, but we’re not going to wait until late next year to ask again,” Beaudin said. “We need to get some clarity on our water supply relationship with Zone 7.”

The city is not recommending that residents filter their drinking water at this time.