California Water Service is asking Livermore for permission to install treatment equipment aimed at PFAS chemicals at three of its water storage sites, and the city's Planning Commission takes up the request at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The sites are Station 9 at 3474 East Ave., Station 19 at 1748 Elm St. and Station 31 at 732 Olivina Ave. Each already holds water tanks under conditional use permits the city granted earlier, in 1958, 1960 and 2002, according to the staff report. Cal Water needs modifications to those permits plus site plan design review approval for the new equipment.
What would be built
At each station, Cal Water would add two granular activated carbon vessels along with control and electrical equipment, underground utilities and piping connections. The staff report describes the vessels as tanks filled with carbon granules; water passes down through the bed, which captures contaminants.
Planning Manager Steve Riley's report says the work would expand each facility's capacity and is meant to keep water service efficient and reliable for Cal Water's Livermore customers.
The vessels stand 21 feet 6 inches tall, under the height limits of 24 to 45 feet in the three zoning districts, and meet setback rules. At Station 31, where each vessel is 12 feet across, total lot coverage would reach 3.8%, well under the 40% cap.
All three stations sit in residential areas. Station 31 and Station 19 are surrounded by single-family homes, and Station 9 has multifamily housing on every side.
