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9A Page 4 ARB is scheduled to consider the scoping plan in November 2008. For more information about the workshops and the draft scoping plan, visit www.arb.ca.Qov.click on the "Events. tab and select 'Workshops Only - . Sustainable Cities Feature: Yountville Turns Wastewater to Grape Water What do the wineries of Chimney Rock, Clos du Val and Stags Leap have in common with Vintners' Golf Club and the California Veterans Home of Yountville? All are irrigated using recycled wastewater from Yountville's residents, businesses and the Veterans Home. Using sedimentation and filtration process. the sewage from the city's 3,300 residents and businesses is essentially cleaned, removing all the solids. It's a chemical-free process except for sodium hypo-chloride (bleach) used at the end to disinfect. From flush to finish, on average it takes just 24 hours to turn the city's waste into usable water. Reclaimed water is treated to meet federal and state standards and can be used for irrigation. Although it's safe enough to drink, it's not being used for drinking or tap water. By recycling wastewater, Yountville helps keep the treated water from running into the local ' creeks and river system. Water from wells and local reservoirs can be preserved by not pumping water out of the ground. When vineyards pump water from the wells they lower the aquifer. This is an especially critical issue with California's current drought. Customers of the reclaimed water save money because they don't have to pump water to irrigate. Council Member Steven Rosa, the city's former waste water supervisor, believes reclaiming water is vitally important. .Y ou are freeing up tap water for people instead of watering the fields.. Yountville's reclaimed water has become such a valuable commodity locally that Robert Mondavi and Silverado wineries are very interested in tapping into the pipeline that delivers the product to the other customers. Rosa says he expects this to happen in the next two years. Currently, Yountville reclaims 45-60 percent of the city's sewage water. The city is working on expanding its storage capacity and is in the process of reviewing its plant modernization plan. The goal is to have a .zero discharge. system in place to be able to reclaim all wastewater in the next three years, Yountvllle has been recycling water for nearly three decades. The small Napa County city began recycling water when the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented new water treatment standards in the 1970s. Today, the other four cities in Napa County (American Canyon, Calistoga, Napa and St. Helena) also treat their wastewater as well as some local businesses such as the Meadowood Resort and St. Helena Hospital. Find a Bill, Legislators, Leg Committee, or Ask League Leg Staff Visit (and bookmark!) the League's Legislative Resources Web page (www.cacities.orQ/leQresources). You'll find a roster and contact information for the league's legislative staff; the online Bill Search program, background materials on lobbying your legislators, and more. - 4