Title
Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project (M25-001)
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FileID
File ID: 2026-00527
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Pass a Motion recommending that the City Council: 1) certify the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project; 2) adopt the Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations for significant and unavoidable impacts to historical resources; and 3) approve the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project.
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Contact
Contact: Sean de Courcy, Preservation Director, (916) 808-2796, sdecourcy@cityofsacramento.org, Community Development Department
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Presenter
Presenter: Megan Thomas, Senior Engineer, (916) 808-1729, MeThomas@cityofsacramento.org, Department of Utilities
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Background
3-Ordinance No. 2011-011 Relating to River District Nominations
4-Historical Resource Evaluation of the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant
5-2023 Water Master Plan Update
6-Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project (June 2025)
7-Final Environmental Impact Report for the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project (January 2026)
8-Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations
9-Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
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Additional Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: The Department of Utilities (DOU) is in the process of planning for the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project (project). This project includes significant improvements at both of the City’s drinking water treatment plants: Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant (SRWTP), located north of downtown, and E. A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant, located east of Sacramento State University. These improvements replace critical treatment infrastructure past its useful life, improve resiliency to address environmental and regulatory changes impacting drinking water, and increase the drinking water treatment capacity at the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant in order to ensure sufficient water supply to support projected water use increases through 2050.
DOU staff is seeking a recommendation by the Preservation Commission for City Council to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report, adopt the Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations for the significant impacts the project would have on the city-owned historical resources, and approve the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project.
Throughout project planning and development, DOU staff has been actively engaged with Preservation staff at the Community Development Department to reduce or avoid impacts to historical resources, particularly as it pertains to the SRWTP site, which is a historic landmark listed on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources in 2011. On January 22, 2025, DOU staff presented the proposed project to the Preservation Commission to see if there were any initial concerns regarding the anticipated impacts to historical elements within SRWTP. At this meeting, no immediate concerns were identified.
Additional information about the project and potential impacts to historical resources at the SRWTP site, as well as the Preservation Commission’s role in reviewing potential impacts to City-owned historical properties, are included in the Background section of this staff report (Attachment 2).
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: This project is consistent with the 2040 General Plan’s objectives, supporting the public facilities and safety as well as historic and cultural resources. Staff has evaluated the project and concluded the project balances the need for water infrastructure improvements and preservation of historic and cultural resources to the greatest extent feasible and is consistent with the goals and policies of the 2040 General Plan Public Facilities and Safety and the Historic and Cultural Resources elements.
Public Facilities and Safety:
• The City shall protect and maintain critical infrastructure such as emergency shelters, fire stations, police stations, emergency operations centers, communications networks, and other emergency service facilities and utilities to ensure continuity of essential operations, including, but not limited to, uninterrupted public safety services during flooding, seismic, geologic, wildfire, and other hazards. (PFS-2.2)
• The City shall plan, secure funding for, and procure sufficient water treatment capacity and infrastructure to meet projected maximum daily water demands. (PFS-3.5)
• The City shall foster the orderly and efficient expansion of facilities and infrastructure to adequately meet projected needs, comply with current and future regulations, and maintain public health, safety, and welfare. Infrastructure and facility planning should discourage oversizing of infrastructure that could induce growth at the edges of the city beyond what is anticipated in the General Plan. (PFS-3.10)
Historic and Cultural Resources:
• The City will continue to promote the preservation, restoration, enhancement, and recognition of historic and cultural resources throughout the city. (HCR-1.1)
• The City will continue to strive to minimize impacts to historic and cultural resources by consulting with property owners, land developers, tribal representatives, and the building industry early in the development review process as needed. (HCR-1.6)
• Consistent with Secretary of the Interior Standards, the City shall consider demolition of historic resources as a last resort, to be permitted only if rehabilitation or adaptive reuse of the resource is not feasible; demolition is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents; or the public benefits outweigh the loss of the historic resource. (HCR-1.10)
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): A draft environmental impact report (DEIR) was prepared and filed with the State Clearinghouse on June 20, 2025. An official 45-day public review period for the DEIR was established by the State Clearinghouse, ending on August 4, 2025. A total of 5 (five) comments were received regarding the DEIR. These comments were responded to within the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). The environmental assessment includes the project’s potential impacts to historical resources and provides mitigation measures where impacts greater that “No Impact” were identified. Per Sacramento City Code Section 17.808.180, for projects involving demolition of city-owned historic resources, the DEIR and FEIR are being presented to the Preservation Commission to consider the findings of the environmental assessment of the project.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Maintaining a reliable and safe water supply is critical to sustaining Sacramento into the future.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: No official commission or committee action has been taken on this item.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The availability of surface water treatment capacity for existing and future customer demand is forecasted to reach its limits by 2039, at which time new water supply capacity will be needed. These forecasts consider city growth estimated in the 2040 General Plan, conservation performance, sustainable groundwater management activities, likely wholesale contracts, and various rules governing water diversions from the rivers. The 2023 Water Master Plan Update also outlined the necessary steps to secure additional water supply by expanding creating additional treatment capacity at the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant and making modifications to E. A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant.
The proposed Water+ Treatment Plant Resiliency and Improvements Project is necessary to meet these goals and meet future water supply demands for the City.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: None.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): None.
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