Full Description

Alamo Creek is a planned residential community of 1,400 homes by Shapell Industries in Northern California. This new development will include various types of housing, soccer fields, an elementary school, a fire station, and parks. The Environmental Impact Report for the project estimated the entire development would need about 0.7 million gallons per day (mgd) of water. The logical water service provider for this project, based on the site location, is East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). However, based on site drawings the project boundaries only ended up half inside the current service area limits of EBMUD. Annexation of the additional project boundary (currently outside the current EBMUD service area) was controversial in that EBMUD does not yet have a long-term water supply for this and other planned developments. In order to mitigate the water supply impacts of planned development, Maddaus Water Management (MWM) was asked to develop a plan to make the development as water efficient as possible, beyond current plumbing and appliance code requirements. First, MWM refined the project water estimate, recognizing lower water use from currently required fixtures. Then MWM proposed both indoor and outdoor efficiency improvements beyond current codes. These on-site measures would reduce demand down to just less than 0.56 mgd. Eliminating the project impacts required an innovative partnership between Shapell and EBMUD. First, recycled water for landscape irrigation was planned for the project. This lowered project water demands to 0.45 mgd (instead of the original 0.7 mgd requirement). Next, an agreement was worked out that involved Shapell paying EBMUD over $6,000 per new home to sponsor new conservation projects within the existing service area. The goal is to offset the new demand on a 2:1 basis, or to save 0.9 mgd (twice the demand of 0.45 mgd). The 2:1 mitigation provides a factor of safety for the estimated water savings. The plan is to invest about $8 million to save 0.9 mgd from programs that EBMUD will undertake that are over and above the current aggressive conservation plan. Fees will be paid as homes are built. EBMUD is already planning on saving 34 mgd by 2020 in the service area through a variety of programs so this new agreement needed to find new ways to save water.Sustainable development is a goal that will be realized by this project. A unique partnership, one of the first in the United States on such a large scale, promises to show how new development can have a zero water footprint. Once completed, the Alamo Creek Project and the partnerships created will be a model for other developers and water utilities to follow in striving to create sustainable development in water short areas. Includes tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 06/17/2004 Number of Pages: 16File Size: 1 file , 340 KB