Steam ahead

Here are a few of the reasons why Santa Rosa should send more wastewater to The Geysers, as detailed in a proposed agreement with steamfield-operator Calpine:

The water will help create clean, green energy.

The amount of wastewater released into the Laguna de Santa Rosa would be cut by 60 to 70 percent.

The existing $250 million pipeline has the capacity to hold the proposed 50 percent increase.

Calpine would pay the city $300,000 annually to help offset pumping costs.

Given these benefits, the Board of Public Utilities and the City Council should move forward with the proposed new contract. In the long-term, however, the city needs to consider the high value of waste water as a substitute for potable water.

As Sonoma County residents have discovered this summer, even relatively mild droughts can lead to water shortages. While it's difficult to predict how climate change will affect water supplies, policymakers should prepare for the worst. This means maximizing the opportunities to use wastewater.

To that end, the city should continue talks with north county grape growers who want to siphon off some of the water being sent to The Geysers. By using wastewater to irrigate vineyards, farmers would no longer need to pump fresh water from wells near the Russian River.

In addition, the city should pursue plans to irrigate urban landscapes with wastewater. It is critical that public spaces remain green as more Santa Rosans remove lawns out of economic necessity or with assistance from the "Cash for Grass" program.

Dramatically expanding the amount of wastewater used for irrigation presents financial and political challenges. Reservoirs and piping systems are expensive to build, and critics are concerned about both growth implications and the trace chemicals left in the water after treatment.

The final benefit of a new contract with The Geysers: It gives the city breathing room to address these issues, while working towards a future in which wastewater would replace potable water for many uses.