Golf courses blamed for project delay

Deadline for Lake Merced aquifer plan goes unmet

by Matthew Verrinder
December 22, 2001

DALY CITY -- As the Dec. 17 deadline for a signed contract between Daly city officials and three local golf courses on protecting underground water supplies passed, some environmental groups have begun voicing dissatisfaction.

"It's been extremely frustrating for me," said Dick Allen, co-chair of the water committee for the Lake Merced Task Force.  "(The golf clubs) make you feel comfortable in meetings, but when it comes time to be productive, they duck the issues."

The  Dec. 17 contract date was set at an Oct. 25 first-of-its-kind meeting between the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Daly City and the Lake Merced, Olympic and San Francisco golf courses.

After years of negotiation, officials from all parties announced they had come to agreement on how to protect against declining water levels at Lake Merced and saltwater contamination of the Westside Aquifer.

Now, as Dec. 17 has passed with no signing of the contract it appears as though the protection efforts may be delayed.

The most immediate term of the Oct. 25 agreement was for a new $6 million water recycling facility at Lake Merced Blvd., to be built on the city's existing wastewater treatment site and provide water for the golf courses.

Currently, due to constant pumping of the Westside aquifer by the nearby golf courses to irrigate their fairways and greens, hydrologists warn that supplies are being pumped out of the underground aquifer faster than can be replaced.

The aquifer provides 43 percent of Daly City's drinking water.

The new water-recycling facility will have the ability to treat 2.8 million gallons of recycled water a day, more than enough to meet the needs of the golf courses.

Lake Merced interest groups, eager t see the new facility built and Daly City's water supply protected, aren't pleased with the recent stall in negotiations.

They say a lack of initiative on the part of the golf courses is the reason that the water project deadlines are not being met.

Lake Merced Task Force Co-chair Allen even noted that the golf courses' lead attorney "Mr. (Bob) Maddow has never met a deadline yet."

Maddow, on the other hand, sees the progress from Oct. 25 to the present as substantial, and says missing the December deadline will not affect completion of the project.

"We frankly thought (Dec. 17) was a little premature.  This is a very complex business transaction," Maddow said.  "We have made significant progress, and the parties are all working in good faith."

Yet while Allen is quick to attack Maddow, he has nothing but praise for Daly City staff who have been trying to push water issues to the forefront.

"We give (Daly City Director of Water and Wastewater) Patrick Sweetland a  huge amount of credit.  He's been wonderful to work with.  He's really been aggressive in finding ways to save the aquifer," Allen said.

Daly City has completed 90 percent of the design for the recycled water facility, enough to submit it to the state for grant money under Proposition 13.

Sweetland said that the state could possibly pay for 25 percent of the total project with Daly City paying for the remainder.

But the city's cost estimates have risen since the project was first proposed, in large part due (to) more extensive piping delivery requests by the three golf courses, according to Daly City Manager John Martin.

"It's one of the things that has made the cost rise from about $3 million to $6 million," Martin noted.  "We're meeting with our engineers to find out how we can reduce the costs of the system.  We must find out how to finance (the water recycling facility) before we can sign an agreement."

The city hopes to make up construction costs through sale of recycled water to the golf courses, which will pay more for the recycled water than they (do) for their well water.

Maddow noted that the expected higher water costs stem from rising costs for delivery infrastructure, not just piping requests from the golf courses.

Daly City's Sweetland said he hoped construction of the water recycling plant would begin n May 2002 and end by September 2003.

He also said that the city and golf courses hope to get their contract signed by the latter part of January.