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REQUEST FOR <br />COUNCIL ACTION <br />CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: <br />MAY 19, 2020 <br />TITLE: <br />APPROVE THE PFAS TREATMENT <br />FACILITIES AND PROGRAM AGREEMENT <br />WITH ORANGE COUNTY WATER <br />DISTRICT <br />(NON -GENERAL FUND) <br />/s/ Kristine Ridge <br />CITY MANAGER <br />CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: <br />❑ As Recommended <br />❑ As Amended <br />❑ Ordinance on 111 Reading <br />❑ Ordinance on 2ntl Reading <br />❑ Implementing Resolution <br />❑ Set Public Hearing For <br />,K•�►nl►tr».ic•� <br />FILE NUMBER <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />Authorize the City Manager to execute the PFAS Treatment Facilities and Program Agreement with <br />the Orange County Water District, subject to non -substantive changes approved by the City <br />Manager and City Attorney for the term beginning upon execution of the agreement by the Orange <br />County Water District and ending 30 years thereafter, with the total agreement amount to be <br />determined based on the number of PFAS treatment facilities built or in operation within the City, <br />or until water produced from impacted wells meets water quality standards, during the 30-year term <br />of the agreement. <br />DISCUSSION <br />The Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages the Orange County Groundwater Basin <br />(Basin), which is the source of approximately 75% of the potable water distributed by the City of <br />Santa Ana to its customers. Recent testing in the Basin has revealed that groundwater wells, which <br />are the source of drinking water, have been impacted by a group of man-made substances known <br />as per- and polyfluoroalkl substances (PFAS). PFAS, which do not occur naturally in the <br />environment, have been used in the production of consumer and industrial products since the <br />1940s, mainly as surface coating and protectant formulations. <br />In July 2018, the State of California Division of Drinking Water (DDW) established a Response <br />Level (RL) of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and 70 ppt <br />perfluorooctance sulfonate (PFOS). In February 2020, DDW established revised RLs of 10 ppt for <br />PFOA and 40 ppt for PFOS. Assembly Bill 756, codified as Health and Safety Code Section <br />116378, requires that community water systems either notify their customers of PFAS detection <br />levels exceeding RLs, or remove the affected drinking water sources from service. As a result, <br />several groundwater wells that are the sources of drinking water in the Basin, including one in the <br />City of Santa Ana, have suspended production. This practice helps mitigate the migration of PFAS <br />contaminated groundwater, but also increases the reliance on more expensive imported water to <br />meet customer demand. <br />25E-1 <br />