Rural land Manteca secured south of the city as a way to potentially expand municipal wastewater capacity is bringing in $99,000 a year.

The City Council when they meet tonight at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St., will consider approving a one-year lease extension to allow Mizuno Farms to continued growing crops on 330 of the 417 acres at 23000 South Hays Road.

The lease payment is $99,000.

Manteca bought the land  on June 21, 2011 using $3.4 million paid through sewer connection fees assessed on new development.

At the time the land was purchased city officials indicated it would enable Manteca to pursue a number of options including:

*create spray fields to pipe untreated agricultural waste water from Eckert’s for disposal.

*use those same spray fields to actively go after securing food processors that seek locations to expand near crop production in the San Joaquin Valley.

*the relocation of spray fields plus the transporting of sewer sludge for drying to the Hays Road location.

*to replace wetlands that are part of more than 100 acres of city-owned wastewater treatment property near Costco and Big League Dreams to allow the land to be converted into prime commercial uses as is being proposed with the family entertainment zone.

*create the first wetland mitigation bank in San Joaquin County working in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers that they can they sell easements to other jurisdictions in the county for the replacement of wetlands when needed within their communities.

*develop its own green waste composting facility.

*secure a site for a possible regional wastewater treatment plant 50 years or more into the future.

The annual lease payments the city has received from farming have been returned to the sewer connection account based on language in the initial agreement.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com