4.4 miles of pipe will carry recycled water from the SCV Sanitation District's water reclamation plant at Valencia Boulevard and The Old Road to the the vicinity of Newhall Elementary School in the Newhall County Water District service area for landscape irrigation — Ed.

Project Description

The Project involves the construction and potential future operation of a new phase to the existing Castaic Lake Water Agency ("CLWA") recycled water system. The proposed Phase 2C — South End Recycled Water Main Extension ("Phase 2C") line ("line"), varying in size from 12 inches to 24 inches, would connect to the existing CLWA recycled water system at the intersection of Valencia Boulevard and The Old Road and would terminate at Newhall Elementary School at 11th and Walnut Streets. More specifically, the alignment of the line would run east of The Old Road along Valencia Boulevard to Rockwell Canyon Road. From there, the line would extend south to McBean Parkway. At McBean Parkway, two potential alignments are analyzed, as described below (see Figure 2, Phase 2C South End Recycled Water Main Extension Exhibit).

•  Option 1 — The line would extend south on Tournament Road to the improved Pico Canyon Wash flood control channel. At this point, the line would extend east along this improved channel within the adjacent paved maintenance road to Wiley Canyon Road. From this point, the line would extend east on Wiley Canyon Road to Orchard Village Road. The line would then extend south on Orchard Village Road, crossing the South Fork of the Santa Clara River on the bridge, to the intersection with Dalbey Drive. The line would then extend east on Dalbey Drive to the intersection with Newhall Avenue. From this point the line would extend in two directions; north approximately 600 feet (to provide service to Placerita Junior High School); and south to 13th Street. At 13th Street and Newhall Avenue, the line would extend east on 13th Street to its intersection with Walnut Street. From the intersection, the line would extend south on Walnut Street terminating at 11th Street. The total pipeline length of Option 1 is 23,560 linear feet or 4.46 miles. See Figures 3 through 5 for photograph views of the Option 1 Alignment.
•  Option 2 — The line would extend east on McBean Parkway to Orchard Village Road. From this point, the line would extend south on Orchard Village Road to Dalbey Drive. The alignment of the line from this location would be the same as Option 1. The total pipeline length of Option 2 is 22,990 linear feet or 4.35 miles. See Figure 6 for photograph views of the Option 2 Alignment.

Project Background

The Project (identified as Phase 2C) is included in the Castaic Lake Water Agency Recycled Water Master Plan Update ("RWMP") prepared for the Santa Clarita Valley public water wholesaler CLWA and the four local water retailers NCWD, Valencia Water Company (VWC), Santa Clarita Water Division (SCWD) and Los Angeles County Waterworks District 36 (LACWD36). Collectively, CLWA and the retail purveyors are the Santa Clarita Valley's water suppliers. The RWMP updates the 2002 Recycled Water Master Plan to reflect changes in recycled sources, demand and explores the opportunities to maximize the utilization of recycled water in the Santa Clarita Valley. The RWMP identifies recycled water objectives for the near term, mid?term and long term. The Draft Program EIR for the RWMP was published in October 2016 and will likely be considered for certification by the water suppliers in early 2017.

The SCVSD operates two water reclamation plants (WRPs) within the Santa Clarita Valley — the Saugus WRP and the Valencia WRP. Developed land uses within the Valley are the primary sources of wastewater to the WRPs. According to the RWMP, the Valencia WRP has an average flow of 13.8 million gallons per day (mgd), with a current treatment capacity of 21.6 mgd. Ultimately the Valencia WRP would expand to up to 34 mgd. The Saugus WRP has an average flow of 5.5 mgd with a current maximum treatment capacity of 6.5 mgd. There is no future expansion planned for the Saugus WRP. In addition to the two existing WRPs two approved future developments include new water reclamation facilities — Newhall Ranch and Vista Canyon. Future recycled water flows from each of these plants would serve the projects and surrounding areas.

A portion of the flows from the Valencia and Saugus WRPs are discharged to the Santa Clara River to meet instream flow requirements to protect biological resources in the river. SCVSD has prepared technical analyses that show that 13 mgd is the amount of effluent from the Saugus and Valencia WRPs that should be discharged to the Santa Clara River (SCR) in order to sustain biological resources (SCVSD, 2013). Recent trial court decisions have indicated that SCVSD's technical analyses regarding the discharge level of 13 mgd requires additional detail. Such studies may result in higher or lower quantities of water being required for discharge. However, consistent with discussions with the SCVSD, for the purposes of the analysis within this Initial Study, it is assumed that 8.5 mgd of minimum discharge must be maintained at the Valencia WRP outfall and 4.5 mgd at the Saugus WRP outfall.

The amount of effluent available for recycled water reuse is based on the excess supply after the minimum discharge to the river is satisfied. NCWD and CLWA will be required to comply with the eventual SCVSD baseline for required minimal flows discharged to the Santa Clara River as a result of the future studies and approved 1211 petition to divert discharges. A 1211 petition is required when a wastewater treatment plant makes changes to the discharge of treated wastewater. If changes are proposed, the owner of the wastewater treatment plant requires approval of the State Water Resources Control Board. If the proposed change could have an adverse impact to biological resources, the CDFW requires review and mitigation measures to ensure minimal impact to biological resources. Currently, SCVSD has gone through the 1211 petition process and has contract with CLWA for 1,600 AFY of recycled water. For the use of additional recycled water beyond the 1,600 AFY currently available to CLWA, SCVSD would need to go through a new 1211 petition process.

Future production of recycled water is expected to increase at both WRPs as new development comes online, thereby increasing wastewater flows into the WRPs. In addition to the Project, there are three other near?term recycled water projects plus the existing use of recycled water. These projects include Phase 2A (Bouquet Extension), Phase 2B (Vista Canyon) and Phase 2D (Valencia Extension). The Vista Canyon project includes a WRP which would provide the recycled water for this recycled water project. According to the RWMP, approximately 5,800 acre?feet of annual supply would be available in 2020 accommodating all of the near?term projects, including Phase 2C while still maintaining a discharge of 8.5 mgd from the Valencia WRP to the river. As stated previously, use of recycled water within the Phase 2C line is subject to the future execution of a contract (including supporting environmental documentation) with the SCVSD to acquire additional recycled water beyond the existing 1,600 AFY currently under contract between SCVSD and CLWA.

Project Construction

Construction of the line is expected to commence in 2019 with completion expected in 2020. With a maximum of up to approximately 23,560 total linear feet of water line installation under Option 1 and an average of 200 linear feet installed per day, approximately 120 construction days would be needed for line installation and approximately 60 days would be needed for paving. Thus, a total of 180 construction days is estimated in this analysis, which equates to approximately 8 months of construction (based on an average of 22 construction days available per month). For purposes of this analysis, the following equipment mix would be considered the peak activity: two excavators, one tractor/loader/backhoe, one paver, one compactor, approximately five haul truck trips for spoils, and approximately 28 transfers of concrete for slurry backfill, asphalt and sand.