City, Country Clubs in Talks Over Use of Reclaimed Water

City officials are working with two local country clubs on a plan for the use of treated sewage water, which would prevent it from being dumped into Newport Bay.

Under the plan, the reclaimed water would be used by Big Canyon and Newport Beach country clubs, the Bluffs Homeowners Assn. and Corona del Mar High School for landscape watering. On Monday, the City Council voted unanimously to approve agreements with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the homeowners association. City officials have not been able to reach an agreement with country clubs, but talks are ongoing, City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said.

All four agreements must be approved by Oct. 1 to meet conditions in the city’s agreement with the Irvine Ranch Water District and the Orange County Water District to prevent treated waste from being dumped into San Diego Creek, which flows into the Upper Newport Bay.

“If we achieve these agreements by the deadline,” Murphy said, “there will be no discharge this winter, period.”

The key issues in the negotiations with the country clubs include the cost of retrofitting the pipes and concern that their investment in turf and greens will be harmed by reclaimed water, Murphy said.

But he added that he expects an agreement will be reached with both clubs before the deadline.

In July, the city and the water districts agreed to build a pipeline to transfer the filtered water from the Irvine Ranch Water District to the county. The county then offered to extend one of its pipelines for the reclaimed water project.

In turn, the city agreed to provide five groups, including itself, to use the treated sewage water.