HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.c.Algal Bloom(Handout)The Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) are on the front lines of environmental stewardship
of San Francisco Bay. Our member agencies clean the Bay Area's wastewater to the highest
national and state standards, protecting public health and the environment.
Algal Blooms - What We're Seeing
In 2022 and again in 2023, harmful algal bloom
events occurred in the San Francisco Bay.
Scientists don't fully understand what triggered
the blooms, but know that nitrogen, which is a
naturally occurring nutrient in treated
wastewater, contributed by providing "food" for
the algal species, Heterosigma akashiwo, which
led to levels of growth not previously seen.
Algal blooms and the nutrients that feed them in
the Bay are a community problem. When you
flush a toilet, wash your dishes, or take a shower,
that water (called wastewater) flows through
sewers to one of 37 wastewater treatment
facilities in the Bay Area, where it is treated
before being discharged into the Bay.
This complex system of pipes, pumps, and
large-scale machinery totals billions in assets and
is infrastructure that is owned by the community
and maintained through the payment of rates to
your local wastewater agency.
Where Do Nutrients Come From?
Nutrients in
the water
r �
66% from
wastewater
33% from
other sources
0
0
Excessive Less oxygen
algal growth in the water
Stress on
aquatic organisms
While all wastewater treatment facilities meet robust,
science -based standards for treating wastewater, it all
contains some amount of nitrogen - or nutrients - which is
33 %
now negatively affecting the health of the San Francisco Bay.
come from industrial
discharge and runoff
We do not fully understand the triggers for algal blooms, but
via the Sacramento
they are an important reminder that the Bay's historic
River Delta
resilience to nutrients added to the Bay via wastewater is
66%
0
being stressed by changing climate impacts.
come from community
water use via treated
The levels of nutrients discharged to the Bay by clean water
wastewater
agencies have been reduced by more than 10 percent in
recent years, but these historically "normal" levels of
nitrogen are now stressing the Bay's ecosystem.
2024 Watershed Permit
Since nutrients are so interconnected to the health
of the Bay, BACWA (representing more than 50
local clean water agencies that protect the Bay),
regulators, environmental advocates, and scientists
are proposing policy changes to reduce allowable
nutrient levels discharged to the Bay.
Nutrients are regulated via a Watershed Permit
administered by the San Francisco Regional Water
Quality Control Board. An updated Watershed Permit
will be adopted in 2024, when the 2019 permit
expires. BACWA serves as a venue for all Bay Area
local clean water agencies to negotiate provisions
with the Water Board and assists its members with
compliance with the Watershed Permit once
adopted. As our environmental stewards, BACWA and
the Water Board have been discussing requirements
to reduce nutrient levels in the 2024 Watershed
Permit for several years.
During these ongoing conversations, BACWA remains
committed to science -based strategies that reduce
nutrient levels in wastewater that is discharged to the
Bay while balancing the fact that necessary upgrades
to achieve the required nutrient load reductions at every
Bay Area wastewater treatment plant will cost the region
over 11 billion dollars, or $4,000 per household.
Upgrade costs will be borne by community members via
increases to their wastewater rates. Therefore it is
incumbent upon the clean water community to make
careful decisions to protect both the Bay and ratepayers.
Investment in our wastewater infrastructure by the state
and federal government would help lessen the impact of
these rate increases on Bay Area communities.
$1.1. BILLION
cost to upgrade all Bay Area
wastewater treatment facilities
BACWA's Vision for the 2024 Watershed Permit is Science -Based, Flexible, and Innovative
Science -Based
Ensure the Watershed Permit
reflects the best understanding of
nutrient reduction science, based
on BACWA-funded research by
the San Francisco Estuary Institute
and other scientists.
=lexible
1 Since the Watershed Permit will likely establish limits
on a Bay -wide basis, our region has a unique
opportunity to work together to maximize nutrient
removal and minimize expense via regional planning.
Flexibility to support treatment plan upgrades
consistent with capital planning schedules and
considerations for community engagement,
construction costs, and other factors is imperative.
Innovative
While they may take longer than
traditional upgrades to implement, the
2024 Watershed Permits should ensure
innovative ideas like nature -based
solutions and recycled water that
provide drought resilience, shoreline
protection, and/or habitat
enhancement are prioritized.
140f3'
Bay Area wastewater treatment
facilities have already enhanced
nutrient removal, and others are
implementing upgrades