The Harvest Water Program: Long-term solution for future droughts

Can you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role at the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer)?

A bachelor’s degree in Environmental Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California led me to an interest in water quality challenges and how we can manage this crucial resource for both people and the environment. After college, I worked for 14 years at a public water and wastewater utility in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had amazing mentors there and wonderful opportunities to build experience in water resources planning, water recycling, and wastewater infrastructure planning. I especially enjoyed projects that involved developing partnerships with other agencies, negotiating collaborative agreements, and advancing regulatory advocacy in new areas. In 2015, I moved to the Sacramento area and found a position with the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer). In my current role, I work as a Senior Civil Engineer in Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, where I also serve as a Harvest Water Program Coordinator. Harvest Water is a truly unique opportunity for our region, and for me personally. I am privileged to support a program with such wide-ranging benefits, a novel approach to water and habitat conservation, and a talented team of people who are passionate about this effort.

What inspired Harvest Water, and what specific goals does it aim to achieve?

Harvest Water will deliver reliable, high-quality recycled water to agricultural lands and existing habitats in southern Sacramento County

Harvest Water’s beginnings can be traced to 2004 when we set a long-term goal to increase recycled water deliveries by up to 40 million gallons per day. At the time, a water recycling opportunities study identified the delivery of recycled water to agricultural lands in southern Sacramento County as a viable alternative to help achieve those goals. Soon after, we began a planning effort known as the South County Ag Project. Those initial studies and activities began a comprehensive development process that eventually evolved into the current Harvest Water program. Along the way, key partners joined the effort to develop a broader approach that leverages the groundwater improvements Harvest Water will make into a comprehensive program to strengthen and protect local habitats. This makes Harvest Water a truly unique program with wide-ranging benefits to groundwater sustainability, agriculture, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems.

Can you provide an overview of what the program entails, and the expected timeline for implementation?

Harvest Water will deliver reliable, high-quality recycled water to agricultural lands and existing habitats in southern Sacramento County. When complete, Harvest Water will supply up to 50,000 acre-feet, which is roughly 16 billion gallons, of drought-resistant recycled water each year and bring other lasting benefits to the region.

The Harvest Water system will be constructed through multiple construction projects featuring a new pumping station, nearly 42 miles of pipeline, and service connection improvements to control delivery of water to the agricultural customers. Contractor mobilization began in late 2023 and construction activities began in early 2024. Construction will continue into 2026, with initial water deliveries expected in early 2027.

Harvest Water reinforces SacSewer’s commitment to environmental stewardship, offering alternative water supply for local agricultural needs. By reducing the need to pump groundwater, the project has the potential to increase groundwater storage through natural recovery by 370,000 acre-feet. The resulting increased groundwater levels will protect and enhance groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the area.

Harvest Water will promote natural groundwater recovery, boost sustainable agriculture, and strengthen existing local habitats in southern Sacramento County, where declining groundwater levels in the past have impacted water sustainability and groundwater-dependent ecosystem health. Restoring groundwater levels to historic conditions by irrigating with recycled water instead of pumped groundwater will drive multiple habitat benefits. Harvest Water will accomplish the following:

• Improve groundwater conditions to sustain over 5,000 acres of riparian and wetland habitats.
• Enhance habitats for a variety of listed species, including Sandhill crane, Swainson’s hawk, and Giant garter snake.
• Increase streamflow in the Cosumnes River, supporting a longer migration window for Fall-run Chinook salmon.
• Reduce salinity and nutrients in the Sacramento and Delta waterways.

I encourage anyone who would like to know more about Harvest Water to visit our website at SacHarvestWater.org and watch our 4-minute video about the program and the benefits it will bring.

What will be the price of recycled water for agricultural uses, and how does it compare with other options?

Recently, the SacSewer Board of Directors approved a pricing schedule for Harvest Water. The pricing approach needed to be competitive with existing water sources for agriculture in the service area. For the landowners and users to partially substitute their current water supplies with recycled water, it must be cost-effective, reliable, and not create onerous regulatory burdens. Today, the cost to the landowners/users for water supply in the Harvest Water service area is relatively inexpensive and is roughly equivalent to the cost of electricity that they would otherwise pay for pumping the groundwater and local groundwater use fees established by the local Groundwater Sustainability Agency. These costs are estimated at $30 per acre foot for the use of local groundwater.

Therefore, for recycled water to be cost-effective, it must be provided at or below the cost of obtaining groundwater. The cost of using our recycled water for summer agricultural irrigation is currently set at $30 per acre foot. Water for winter (wet season) agricultural irrigation will cost $5 per acre foot. There will be no added cost for water delivered for habitat enhancement uses. Users will also pay a nominal administrative fee for each water meter. Our goal is to keep the water priced such that users can afford to switch from using groundwater to using recycled water for the majority of their irrigation needs. Harvest Water’s pricing approach includes annual adjustments to volumetric costs to match actual increases in electricity rates and local groundwater use fees.

Can you comment on the role of collaboration with partners in this project?

Support for Harvest Water has been immense, and the collaboration with others is a very rewarding element of this program

Harvest Water would not exist without the essential support and collaboration of many stakeholders. As a leader in environmental sustainability, SacSewer is proud to be leading Harvest Water in close collaboration with a wide variety of regional partners. Our stakeholders and supporters are almost too numerous to list, but key parties include local agriculture, environmental organizations, regional water managers, local government, and our state regulatory agencies that support the use of recycled water. Support for Harvest Water has been immense, and the collaboration with others is a very rewarding element of this program.

What are the costs of the program, and how is it being funded, now and into the future?

Harvest Water is estimated to cost approximately $597 million. This estimate includes planning, design, construction, and land protection, along with the initial ten years of habitat protection activities and monitoring of groundwater and habitat.

The California Water Commission awarded Harvest Water $291.8 million in Proposition 1 grant funding through the Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP) to help make Harvest Water a reality for the Sacramento region. WSIP funding was awarded through a rigorous and competitive review process with funding based on the public benefits to water quality and ecosystems that Harvest Water will provide.

Harvest Water has also been awarded a $30 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program.

How will Harvest Water ensure that the recycled water is safe to use?

Since April 2003, our water recycling program has provided an environmentally responsible and safe water supply for non-potable purposes, such as landscape irrigation and industrial uses. SacSewer’s recycled water is treated sewage that has undergone additional filtration and disinfection processes to make the water safe for non-potable (non-drinking) uses.

In 2010, SacSewer received a stringent new discharge permit for its treated sewage that required significant improvements to its treatment processes. The result was a $1.7 billion facility upgrade, called the EchoWater Project, which was completed in 2023. Tertiary-treated water produced by the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility, located near Elk Grove, California, now meets water quality standards for unrestricted recycled water uses, including the irrigation of food crops. This greatly increases the amount of water we can provide for recycled water uses. Recycled water treated at the EchoWater Facility meets and exceeds California’s most stringent irrigation requirements for recycled water.

California’s recycled water standards are among the most stringent in the world, and the state has a long history of successful and safe recycled water use. Recycled water is delivered through purple or marked pipes that are completely separate from the potable (drinking) water pipes. Additionally, water recycling production facilities and distribution systems are monitored continuously. Routine inspections are conducted to ensure there is no cross-connection between potable water systems and recycled water pipes.

In what ways does the Harvest Water Program align with broader water management initiatives and policies in California, and how does it contribute to statewide efforts to address water scarcity?

Harvest Water supports a variety of statewide water policies in California, including the following:

• Supports California’s recycling goal of 2 million acre-feet per year by 2030.

• Raises local groundwater levels by more than 25 feet to help advance the goal of basin sustainability under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
  • Increases regional self-reliance and integrated water management across all levels of government. Harvest Water has been ranked as a high-priority program in the American River Basin Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP).

• Helps achieve the Delta Reform Act and Delta Plan’s co-equal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem protection.
• Addresses the Governor’s California Water Action Plan with a long-term solution to provide additional water supplies for future drought conditions.
• Helps achieve the California State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) statewide goal and Basin Plan policy for water recycling by providing up to 50,000 acre-feet per year of recycled water.

What are some of the key lessons learned from implementing Harvest Water so far that could be applicable to other water recycling initiatives globally?

The drivers for water scarcity, appropriate management approaches, and costs for solutions are greatly impacted by local influences

One of the challenging aspects of water management is that, while water is a universal and essential need, the drivers for water scarcity, appropriate management approaches, and costs for solutions are greatly impacted by local influences. One of the most inspiring elements of Harvest Water is the amazing work that was accomplished to bring together local organizations to leverage a water recycling project into a much more meaningful program. What started as an idea for reusing an important water resource locally became a much broader vision for a multi-benefit program supporting water management, habitat enhancement, and local agriculture. The way to find those multi-benefit opportunities is to reach out to others in the region to fully understand societal and environmental water needs, water costs, water sources, and potential partnerships. Fully exploring the benefits and opportunities of a proposed water project with a wide range of local stakeholders early in a project’s development can open the door for unique opportunities.