Manteca has adequate water to accommodate two projects south of the Highway 120 Bypass that will add 5,669 more housing units or about 19,840 more residents at build out.
That’s the conclusion of water supply assessment and water supply verification studies done for the Austin Road Business Park and the Trails of Manteca. State law requires all projects with more than 500 housing units to conduct such reports.
The City Council will review the reports when they meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
The two projects are at opposite ends of the Highway 120 Bypass.
The Trails of Manteca is proposed for 1,171 single-family homes and 300 apartment units in southwest Manteca south of the western terminus of Woodard Avenue.
Austin Road Business Park will consist of 2,358 single-family units and 1,840 apartments or multiple family units. Overall the Austin Road Business Park consists of 1,050 acres abutting Woodward Avenue and Highway 99, an imaginary line if Highway 99 ran due south at the interchange with the 120 Bypass instead of angling off to the southeast, and future Ripon city limits on the south as well as the east.
It would have 3.5 million square feet of general commercial or about four times the amount of square footage as The Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley that is now under construction. It would also have 8 million square feet of industrial, business park, and office use plus 4,198 living units. This is also where the proposed Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau events center and 5,000-seat amphitheater is proposed.
The industrial uses would generate between 3,000 and 6,000 jobs while the retail portion could yield up to 7,000 jobs.
The homes could accommodate up to 10,200 residents are just under a sixth of the city’s current population.
The water study doesn’t include the retail or business park portion as that is not required under state law.
The two assessment studies note that Manteca had been over drafting the underground aquifers faster than it was being replenished. The availability of treated surface water starting three years ago through the South San Joaquin Surface Water Treatment Plant has reduced the taking of water from underground sources to the point the City of Manteca is now limiting groundwater extraction to
“the safe aquifer yield of one acre foot per year.”
Overall, the city’s surface water treatment capacity when the second phase of the Nick DeGroot plant is completed will accommodate a population upwards of 160,000 people. Manteca currently has 67,000 residents.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, e-mail dwyatt@mantecabulleitn.com
