Water Recycling : Challenges & Opportunities

Robert D. Whitley, Whitley Burchett & Associates

CONTRA COSTA COUNCIL NEWS – JULY 2008

TASK FORCE SPOTLIGHT

Council's Water Task Force plays role in critical public policy issue

Bob Whitley often invokes the phrase, "It's all about the fish!" when explaining water issues to Contra Costa Council Board members. He figures that if we can continue to keep the fish alive in the California Delta, then we may be making progress in the region's quest for an adequate quality water supply. "Water is definitely something I know about and I am learning more as I'm involved with the Council," he says.

Chair of the Contra Costa Council's Water Task Force, Whitley was trained as a civil environmental engineer. His background is in utility infrastructure engineering, which involves the design, construction and management of wastewater and public water utility projects, throughout northern and central California. He established Whitley, Burchett & Associates in 1985 with his partner, Max Burchett, whom he met in grad school at UC Berkeley, to provide services principally to the public sector. Now "retired," Burchett remains involved in the business and also serves as a mentor to younger engineering associates.

Whitley traces back his initial involvement in the Council to about 1990, when he was managing a major infrastructure project in the county. The project drew a lot of public comment and controversy. When speaking to community groups about wastewater and sewage, Whitley found that few people really understood the facts, and many were blinded by their emotions about the topic.

One of his outreach efforts was to the Council's Water Task Force, then chaired by Pam Reed of Morrison Foerster (who later headed the Council). "I found the discussion with the Council Task Force to be thoughtful and factual," recalls Whitley. "It was a welcome environment to have a discussion about a public decision." After that experience, he decided to join the Council and become active on the Task Force.

Gathering information and advocating

Whitley cites two goals for the Water Task Force: (1) to gather information about what he terms "the very abstract topic of water and sewage and recycled water" and to disseminate it to the Council Board and its members; and (2) to become an advocate on specific water projects as well as major policy initiatives that affect water quality and supply. The latter involves supporting utilities in their efforts to improve water quality and reliability and increase the water supply for Contra Costa County users, such as the Los Vaqueros Reservoir project.

"Our role is to gain an understanding of what the public utilities are trying to achieve and also to become advocates to encourage utilities to think more broadly than they sometimes do--to expand policy discussions in both directions," he says. Because public infrastructure and utilities enterprises are by definition parochial, the Task Force seeks to encourage and influence a broader, regional perspective that removes these geographical and political limitations.

"Our society and economy is not dependent on these boundary lines that limit utilities' jurisdictions. What happens in Livermore affects what happens in Walnut Creek, and vice versa," observes Whitley. Contra Costa County has four different water utilities, each with its own policies and resources and staffing. "Why should Walnut Creek be split by two water utilities?" he asks, yet acknowledges the challenges faced by utility governing boards, which are made up of elected officials who are heavily influenced by local concerns. He says he is not being critical, but rather realistic, in his view of the situation and sees the Task Force's role to advocate for these agencies to think beyond their jurisdictions for the economic vitality of the region.

Delta Vision Statement

The Task Force's greatest accomplishment to date, in Whitley's view, is the effort last year to get a very diverse group of people within the Council to become engaged and participatory in the development of guiding principles concerning the California Delta--what became the Delta Vision Statement of Principles. "We were able to capture the whole breadth of the issues and refine them to understandable principles. Granted, it is still a journey, but the recognition of the effort we've gone through, and the coalitions that are being formed around this knowledge, has raised understanding, awareness and interest on the part of the Council." And perhaps more important, he notes, has been a broad recognition by business groups and other government entities of the leadership that the Council is providing in this area. Whitley was recently invited to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of the House of Representatives "who were doing their homework on the Delta." "We felt listened to, and it's a reflection of the work the Council has been doing to be recognized in a larger arena."

Monthly meetings open

The Task Force meets once a month, offering a topic for discussion by Task Force members or invited guests. This is part of the information transfer, which, if it becomes a significant topic, the group will then discuss what its advocacy should be and communicate this by letter or as a discussion topic with the Council's Executive Committee. Several years ago, the Task Force developed a Policy Paper (available on the Task Force's Web page) as an advocacy guideline. Members of the Task Force generally include representatives of public utilities, which see the value in the Council as implementing policy, and of business development businesses, who are trying to learn what's going on in the region and often become engaged in the open debate. "If the utilities expected a rubber stamp of their wishes in seeking Council support, that has not evolved; however, if what they are proposing makes good sense, we will be supportive," Whitley explains.

Challenges and creating a future

A major challenge to the Task Force and the county relates to Contra Costa's ongoing economic development activities, which involve increasing populations and increasing industrial capabilities--and a marked change in the demand for water and water supplies. "We have exceeded our sustainable water supplies in the region, which means that ongoing activities, as they relate to water deliveries to customers, are going to change," says Whitley. "This is a paradigm shift of thinking. The challenge is to recognize that the change will take place, and for the Council to take a responsible advocacy role in influencing that change."

The history of the settlement of the west is all about the quest for a reliable water supply, he points out. "What's different for our generation going back 50 to 60 years, is that there's been comfort that large public works have secured the supply and made it readily available to the community, and people haven't had to think about it. . . . That is no longer true, and that's discomforting. Fish are dying, rationing is taking place. At the same time, we're more sensitized to the need for a quality environment, which has suffered."

Whitley says his involvement with the Council satisfies his intellectual curiosity. "I also recognize the importance of the protection of the environment and satisfying society's needs. To the extent I can help this community be progressive in its approach to these important issues, gives me a sense of personal satisfaction."

"All services provided to our citizens need to be well reasoned, whether it's water, wastewater or a service provided by PG&E. Most of them are, but sometimes in the delivery of the message, we need to dig out the reasoning behind a project. It's important to look at the facts, but we also need to ask: Why are you doing this? Why are you providing this service? That knowledge can lead to understanding and better decisions in the future."