As the Tri-Valley region’s water wholesaler, we work with our
water retailers to ensure that over a quarter of a million
people are served safe and reliable drinking water. Zone 7 also
provides flood protection for all of eastern Alameda County. We
work collaboratively with policymakers and legislators to make
sure we can continue providing exceptional service delivery to
our community. For the most current news from Zone 7,
visit https://www.zone7water.com/news-releases.
What Puts Our Water Supply at Risk?
The Tri-Valley is heavily reliant on imported water through
California’s State Water Project, which helps to buffer the
impacts of the historic over-pumping of the local groundwater
basin from the early to mid-1900s. Along with importing
approximately 70% of the water supply, managing the groundwater
storage and water quality increases the cost of delivering
our water and leaves us vulnerable to long-term reliability
concerns.
Challenges that put our communities at risk for water shortages
are:
Contamination:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging concerns
as our Agency relies on groundwater during drought periods. Three
projects to alleviate PFAS contamination in groundwater at local
wells are in the works and one has been constructed. The
Stoneridge Well PFAS Treatment Facility was producing treated
water in September 2023, with final site completion anticipated
in early 2024. The Chain of Lakes PFAS Treatment Facility is
currently under construction and anticipated to be complete in
Summer 2024. A third project, the Mocho Wellfield PFAS Treatment
Facility, is in the planning phase and is proposed for completion
in 2026. This treatment is expensive and ongoing investment
in our treatment system is needed to address this important
concern. For more information on PFAS and what Zone 7 is doing to
address this concern, visit https://www.zone7water.com/pfas.
Aging Infrastructure:
The State Water Project infrastructure, which we depend on for
most of our water supply, is aging and at risk of failure.
Investing in this infrastructure will ensure it continues
delivering water to our community. The State Water Project
estimates that contractors, such as Zone 7, will have to share in
the costs to update these facilities.
Climate Change:
The changing climate is impacting California’s water resources,
causing prolonged droughts or extreme weather patterns, such
as atmospheric weather patterns.
How does flooding impact our community?
For more information on Zone 7’s Flood Protection activities,
visit https://www.zone7water.com/flood-protection.
Climate Change:
Atmospheric Rivers bring much-needed rainfall, but also can cause
significant channel damage and flooding.
Flood Channel Maintenance:
Ongoing maintenance of our 37 miles of flood channels is
vital to our community. Ensuring a clear path for stormwater
during rainy seasons protects our homes and business from
flooding.
Damage to Infrastructure:
In 2017, and in the most recent storms in 2022 and 2023, storm
damage resulted in millions of dollars in damage. The Zone 7 team
requires multiple years to repair the hundreds of bank slides
that occur during heavy rains. Funding for emergency repairs is
dependent on many factors and requires diligent staff effort to
identify and secure grants to supplement existing revenues.
Keeping Our Community’s Water and Flood Protection Affordable and
Reliable
Zone 7 strives to provide Alameda County with reliable,
high-quality water and effective flood protection. We cannot meet
this goal without local, regional, state, and Federal
collaboration.
Examples of how policymakers can help:
- Provide legislative and funding support for our long-term
water supply and storage projects currently underway, including
the Sites Reservoir project, Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion
Project, and Delta Conveyance project. Other water supplies under
consideration include the Bay Area Regional Desalination project
and the Tri-Valley Potable Reuse project.
- Support and funding for the construction and maintenance of
PFAS treatment projects to keep water safe and critical
production wells online. Zone 7 needs legislative partners to
help identify Federal and State funding or other legislative
solutions to support projects critical to water reliability and
flood protection for the Tri-Valley.
- Acknowledge that water agencies are a part of the solution in
treating contamination in drinking water by exempting agencies
from liability arising out of any changes to the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(“CERCLA”).
- Funding to support the flood programs such as the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers PL-84-99 program, which is critical
to continued assistance to local agencies.
Zone 7 Water Legislative Framework
On January 17, 2024, the Zone 7 Board of Directors adopted a
revised legislative framework to help guide our work in alignment
of our Strategic Plan, and provide a roadmap to our legislative
committee and staff. The latest framework can be found here:
https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=32882&repo=r-35dfdee4
