Is Manteca the next Castroville?

The fertile Monterey County community already uses treated tertiary wastewater for food crop irrigation and depending on the agreements that come out of the City of Manteca’s pending reclaimed water facilities master plan – which was discussed Thursday at a forum at the Manteca Transit Center – the Family City could be next on a growing list of California municipalities that have given the green light to the proposition. 

But a lot of that will hinge on whether Manteca can get regional partnerships – with agencies like the South San Joaquin Irrigation District and the Manteca Unified School District – formed to make using the reclaimed water a winning proposition. 

Currently the water that’s left over after the treatment process is sent out into the San Joaquin River. In light of the state’s critical drought finding a better use, whether that’s for crop irrigation, which is permissible under California law, or ground water aquifer recharging are possibilities that are on the table. 

The process is still extremely preliminary and will require concrete direction from the City of Manteca before additional steps can be taken. Representatives from the Walnut Creek based consulting firm hired to gather input from the community said on Thursday that an environmental impact study can’t be commissioned until more parameters, like who and what will be involved in the process, are known. 

And there are a lot of eyes watching what happens. 

For Mary Hildebrand, who stepped in to assume her father’s position on the South Delta Water Agency, the reclaimed water matter touches on a variety of issues, chiefly the introduction and recirculation of salt to the water system and how much of an impact that will have on ranchers and growers moving forward. 

“We’re looking at a very productive agricultural valley that could become sterile,” said Hildebrand – the youngest daughter of iconic Delta water warrior Alex Hildebrand. “It has happened elsewhere in the world and will happen here if we don’t pay the price now.”

She wasn’t alone in her concerns. 

A local dairyman spoke about how the salt content of the water that is delivered to his heifers has started to have detrimental impact on milk production – something that, according to the consultants from RMC Water and Environment, isn’t going to be addressed or impacted by the reclaimed water project or study. 

Manteca will hold two other workshops, one in May and one in June, to keep the public apprised on where things stand. Future steps include meeting with potential regional customers, getting potential customer and public input and develop project alternatives. Public outreach efforts will also continue in the interim.