This is a good analysis of the water needs of the growing Folsom and El Dorado area which will result in some real problems unless more water storage is found.
We hope to see the Auburn Dam built, which in addition to protecting the integrity of the Parkway, will also help them deal with their water needs far into the future.
An excerpt.
Thirsting for the future
August 17, 2006 5:48 PM PDT
By: Raheem Hosseini
Editor's note: This is the first in a four-part series.
Where will the water come from? It's a simple question without simple answers in these days of unparalleled growth, complicated reclamation rights and mounting climate change concerns.
In Folsom, the discussion comes down to where the water will come from if and when the city annexes land south of Highway 50. With the recent expansion of the city's water treatment plant, officials say Folsom now has enough water to take it to build out.
The three-year Drinking Water Improvement Project encompassed replacing a number of aging filters while adding new pretreatment facilities designed to improve the plant's ability to treat the wide range of raw water that enters it.
"We have three goals in mind for this project," DWIP Project Manager Todd Eising said of the expansion. "We want to continue to meet Health Department requirements by replacing old facilities, maintain and improve the city's water quality with adequate disinfection and increase the capacity of the water treatment plant to keep up with increasing demands."
The city currently serves about 60,000 water customers, with another 9,000 expected at build out. But it's new commercial development in the eastern part of the city that's responsible for the increasing water demand, said Utilities Director Ken Payne.
Meanwhile, the El Dorado Irrigation District is in the beginning stages of expanding El Dorado Hills' water treatment plant, located along Francisco Drive.
Following a 2001 master plant that projects 52 million gallons per day in water demand once the community reaches build out, the EID expects to complete expansion work by 2009 on the $65 million project.
To put it in perspective, water demand in El Dorado Hills averaged 12 million gallons per day in 1993. Its plant currently has the capacity to offer 19.5 million gallons per day. Current projections show maximum day potable water demands reaching capacity by 2007.
