Compliance Alternatives Analysis for Bacteria Water Quality Objectives

To support Santa Ana River Basin Plan triennial review efforts, an evaluation of the appropriateness of REC-1 beneficial use designations and associated bacteria water quality objectives in the Santa Ana River Watershed is being performed by the Santa Ana Stormwater Quality Standards Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force consists of representatives from a variety of stakeholder interests, including the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority; the counties of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino; the Orange County Sanitation District, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9, and other interested parties, with assistance from CDM and Risk Sciences, Inc. Performed as part of overall Task Force efforts, this paper presents the results of a preliminary economic analysis of compliance alternatives for potential solutions to comply with existing bacteria water quality objectives at three study subwatersheds in the Santa Ana River Basin. The analysis includes:• Development of a probabilistic water quality model• Review of four potential bacteria treatment alternatives• Estimation of costs of compliance for each of the three study subwatersheds