This blog is part of a series from the US Water Alliance’s Environmental Finance Center Team highlighting technical assistance projects and successes in communities across the country through RealWaterTA. This free, federally funded program helps communities improve their drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure; achieve regulatory compliance; and secure federal funding.
Community: Joshua Basin Water District, California
Technical assistance offered: Support with regulatory compliance
Background
Planning for and meeting new drinking water standards can require significant investments in treatment technology, infrastructure, and public relations, especially for smaller and rural systems.
The Joshua Basin Water District (JBWD) serves around 5,000 active connections over 96 square miles in the Joshua Tree area of California. JBWD’s source water contains low levels of naturally occurring hexavalent chromium (known as chromium-6 or Cr-6).
The California State Water Resources Control Board recently established new maximum contaminant limits (MCLs) for Cr-6 at 10 parts per billion. Because JBWD’s water slightly exceeds that limit, the District needed to identify, and eventually implement, treatment technology options to reduce Cr-6 levels and comply with new state standards.
Plan of Action
The Alliance’s Environmental Finance Center connected JBWD with Jacobs Engineering to begin the evaluation process.
Jacobs performed an alternatives analysis, evaluating Cr-6 treatment options and providing preliminary cost estimates for each alternative option. After the alternatives analysis was completed, the Alliance helped JBWD develop public outreach materials explaining the new Cr-6 standards, what the changes mean for JBWD customers, and what to expect going forward.
These materials supported ongoing community engagement strategies, including outreach at local farmers’ markets, infrastructure tours, and other community events.
Outcome
The technical assistance supported JBWD’s commitment to compliance with state regulations and proactive approach to communication. Specifically, the alternatives analysis helped JBWD satisfy regulatory requirements associated with the new Cr-6 MCLs and start the process of evaluating the best Cr-6 treatment alternative for their system. The cost estimates included in the alternatives analysis can be used for future funding applications and long-term financial planning. Additionally, the public outreach materials provide JBWD with a way to communicate with customers about the new standards and the District’s plans to remain in compliance.
This project demonstrates how technical assistance can help communities achieve multiple goals, including planning for infrastructure investments and breaking down highly technical information for community members and the general public.
“Joshua Basin Water is enormously appreciative of the Alliance’s assistance, which helped us take the critical first steps and successfully launch what we knew would be a difficult and complex process for our small, disadvantaged community” – Anne Roman, General Manager Pro Tem & Director of Finance, Joshua Basin Water District
Read part one of this blog series, highlighting technical assistance projects in Washington.
