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Res 1953 - Authorizing Disinfection of Water SupplyCOUNCIL BILL NO. 2806 RESOLUTION NO. 1953 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO EXPEND FUNDS FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DISINFECTION OF THE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH BEST PRACTICES AND FEDERAL AND STATE REGULATORY GUIDELINES WHEREAS, the City Council acknowledges that the City has experienced deficiencies in the quality of water provided through the City's water supply system; and WHEREAS, the City Council acknowledges that the public health and safety of the residents is a fundamental responsibility of local government and directly impacted by the quality of water provided through the City's water supply system; and WHEREAS, the City Council acknowledges that the quality of life sustained within the community can be adversely affected by not providing essential services, such as water free of undesirable organisms, odors, and turbidity; and WHEREAS, the City Council has received a recommendation from the Public Works Department that the addition of primary and secondary disinfection of the water supply system will allow a more efficient and effective means to provide City residents the highest possible quality of water that is free of pathogens, undesirable organisms, odors, and turbidity; and WHEREAS, the City Council acknowledges that the implementation of a policy to provide primary and secondary disinfection of the City's water supply system will directly impact each resident of Woodburn, and; WHEREAS, the City Council desires the subject policy to be implemented with due diligence and citizen participation to include public outreach and education; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to review the design solution, implementation process, engineer's cost estimate, and public comment received during design development prior to authorizing the construction contract to be advertised for bid, NOW, THEREFORE, Page 1 —COUNCIL BILL NO. 2806 RESOLUTION NO. 1953 THE CITY OF WOODBURN RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council hereby determines that primary and secondary disinfection of the water supply is in the health and safety interest of the City residents of Woodburn. Section 2. The Public Works Department is authorized to expend City funds from Fund 466 to evaluate primary and secondary disinfection of the water supply systems select a preferred method, complete design, prepare contract documents, and conduct a public outreach and education process to present to Council a design acceptance package for approval prior to advertising for bid. Section 3. The City Administrator is authorized to identify and adopt appropriate City administrative procedures and programs to assist those residents that are adversely impacted by the water supply system primary and secondary disinfection system. Approved as to form: City Attorney Approved: Passed by the Council Submitted to the Mayor Approved by the Mayor Katiyyn Fi&yj Ma 12�4 09 121 s'/09 /z//?/a9 Filed in the Office of the Recorder 1211��b� ATTEST: 4ri S arer, City Recorder oo -Urn, Oregon Page 2 — COUNCIL BILL NO. 2806 RESOLUTION NO. 1953 � J Agf� Wff%, WaoDBuRN Inrarpc rn (ad tR8/ December 14, 2009 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council through City Administrator FROM: Dan Brown, Public Works Director SUBJECT: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DISINFECTION OF THE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM RECOMMENDATION: Adopt resolution directing staff to proceed with the establishment of primary and secondary disinfection of the City's Water Supply System. Disinfection processes may include the use of chlorine to most effectively provide the highest quality of water to the residents of Woodburn. BACKGROUND: The City of Woodburn currently does not disinfect its water supply system. Under current federal and state regulations, the City is not required to disinfect its water supply system because the source of its water supply is groundwater. Current groundwater regulations are under review as our nation's groundwater supply quality becomes less pure and subject to contamination. The City has encountered incidents of its water supply quality being degraded due to the presence of organisms in the water delivered to end users. It has been determined that the degradation of the water quality in the supply system is occurring in the distribution system. DISCUSSION: The City, through Council policy and direction, has historically elected to not disinfect its water supply system. This policy was established on the following premises: • No federal or state regulatory requirement exists that requires the City to disinfect its water supply system because the water source was groundwater. Agenda Item Review: City Administrator City Attorney Finance )OP Honorable Mayor and City Counci December 14, 2009 Page 2 • Concern of the potential health risks associated with disinfection byproducts as some research indicates that certain byproducts of water disinfection are linked to increases in cancer incidence, including bladder cancer. • A technical recommendation that the new water treatment facilities did not require disinfection capacity. The City has experienced incidences of substandard water quality being provided at point of use. In fact, since 1992 there have been 32 routine sampling sets that tested positive for Total Coliform. Of those positive sampling sets, 24 of them eventually tested negative with the repeat samples. The presence of total coliforms indicates potential problems with microbial water quality and triggers testing for fecal coliform and E. Coli. Fecal coliforms and E. Coli are bacterial contaminants whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes, and urgent action is needed to protect the health of the community, including advising water users to boil drinking water or use alternate water supplies. Microbes in these water supplies can cause short-term health effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children and people with severely compromised immune systems. The EPA is currently conducting a review of the Total Coliform Rule and may provide significant changes that affect distribution water quality and operations. Regulations of specific disease causing (pathogenic) microbial organisms including Cryptosporidium, Giardia lamblia, enteric viruses and Legionella are typically associated with water systems that use surface water supplies; however, groundwater that is under the influence of surface water may also contain these contaminants. Requirements for microbial contaminants of these pathogenic organisms can also include indicators of microbial contamination including heterotrophic plate count bacteria (HPC), and turbidity. Because the City has currently adopted a policy of not disinfecting its water supply system, it is extremely vulnerable to pathogenic microbial organisms. Public Works believes this vulnerability is most associated with the 98 miles of water main piping through the City's distribution system. This system varies in age and integrity. While the City has invested heavily in facilities to provide primary treatment for the removal of iron, manganese, and other undesirable elements and compounds, to address water quality, it has not identified what happens to that treated water when it enters the distribution system. Honorable Mayor and City Council December 14, 2009 Page 3 Only recently has the Public Works Department expanded the dialog with Council to include the entire water distribution system and its affect on water quality for the residents of Woodburn. Only recently has the water supply industry and regulatory authorities realized that policies and regulations must address the entire water supply system. In the past, the decision was based upon the water supply source. Today, the entire water supply system must be considered when determining whether and what type of disinfection of the water supply system is needed. New regulations may require the City to chlorinate. The Groundwater Rule requires assessment of the City's water supplies for potential viral contamination and completion of sanitary surveys every five years. The State could require chlorination based on distribution water quality issues as part of the sanitary survey if it is considered significantly deficient. The City has reviewed and studied the need for primary and secondary disinfection for the water supply system for the past year. Considerable research and discussion between Council and staff has transpired over the last year. There is compelling justification for the City to adopt a policy to provide primary and secondary disinfection to the water supply system to provide adequate public safety and health and to improve the overall water quality. Because this decision and establishment of public policy impacts every resident of the City of Woodburn, the Public Works Department will host a series of Open Houses within the neighborhoods. The Open Houses will be formatted to provide public information regarding the need for and methodologies being evaluated to provide both primary and secondary disinfection of the City's water supply system. The recommendation for solution presented to Council will include public comment received as a result the Open Houses and public information efforts during design development. Solicitations will be made at the Open Houses for volunteers to continue to participate in the citizen involvement by applying for appointment to the Citizen Advisory Committee. Upon completion of the design of the water system disinfection process, Council will be briefed on the design solution and requested authorization to advertise for issuance of a construction contract to install the disinfection system. At this decision point, Council will know the design solution for providing disinfection, estimated cost for installation, and public response to the design solution. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed resolution will allow the Public Works Department to expend existing water capital construction funds in reserve within the Water System Honorable Mayor and City Council December 14, 2009 Page 4 Construction Fund (Fund 466) to design and install primary and secondary disinfection of the water supply system. An increase in water rates to offset this capital improvement will not be necessary to fund the disinfection system installation project.