Water sustains life. Yet how often do we take for granted that every time we turn the tap, clean, drinkable water will pour out?
On March 13, at new East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Ward 5 Director Jim Oddie’s Meet and Greet, participants learned what a monumental and unsung effort is required to ensure daily clean water on tap and efficient wastewater management. The meeting addressed vital infrastructure updates, wildfire preparation, environmental and water quality concerns, World Water Day, and what to expect regarding rate increases.
Oddie was an Alameda City Councilmember for six years from 2014-2020. Before that, he was the District Director for then Assemblymember (now Attorney General) Rob Bonta. In 2024, Oddie was elected EBMUD Director of Ward 5, encompassing the City of Alameda, portions of Oakland and San Leandro, and the community of San Lorenzo.
“You can’t build water,” Oddie said in discussing his commitment to protecting the East Bay’s water supply, “It really is a finite resource.”
Updating water infrastructure
Oddie noted that laying out all of EBMUD’s pipes in a line would stretch from Oakland to Chicago and back. “That’s a lot!” he said, “And some of it is old.” Many pipelines leading to Alameda were constructed of 1940s-era brittle cast iron and need replacement. This aging infrastructure is concerning because Alameda has no reservoirs and relies entirely on water from EBMUD through four pipelines under the estuary.
Recently, EBMUD replaced a 36-inch pipeline near the Posey Tube, sinking a new seismically resilient pipeline 150 feet below the estuary. The previous cast iron pipeline was closer to the surface, which made it more vulnerable to earthquakes.
“It is a major undertaking to put a pipeline under the estuary,” said Clifford Chan, EBMUD General Manager. “But what that will do is ensure we have a more reliable water supply to Alameda.”
EBMUD is repurposing a half-mile portion of the cast iron pipe for part of its East Bayshore Recycled Water Project, which will deliver recycled water to Alameda for irrigation and industrial uses. The agency expects the project to be completed by Fall 2027. A housing development at Bohol Circle Immigration Park is already plumbed to receive recycled water.
“This new access to recycled water puts Alameda in a position to lead the fight against climate change by reducing its water consumption footprint,” said former EBMUD Director Doug Linney. EBMUD Board President Lesa R. McIntosh added, “Recycled water lets us use this natural resource three times — first as natural rainfall, second when we drink the water we’ve captured, and third as recycled water for our landscapes and industries.”
During Fiscal Year 2026-2028, EBMUD will build the San Leandro Channel Crossing Project to install seismically resilient pipelines between Alameda’s main island and Bay Farm Island. During Fiscal Year 2029-2030, EBMUD will build the Tidal Canal Crossing to install resilient pipelines between southern Alameda and Oakland.
Updating wastewater infrastructure
Ever wonder where the water in your toilet goes when you flush? If you watched the 2003 animated film Finding Nemo, in which Nemo hopes to make a daring escape from a dentist’s aquarium down a toilet so he can get back to his dad, you might have thought the water goes straight into the ocean.
“That was the biggest lie!” quipped Amit Mutsuddy, Director of Wastewater, in mock outrage over the film’s portrayal of wastewater management.
Matsuddy explained that in Alameda’s case, wastewater travels approximately five miles to a treatment plant in Oakland near the base of the Oakland-Bay Bridge. Given that Alameda is flat and wastewater can’t get there by gravity flow, how does it get there?
The answer lies in interceptors and pump stations. Interceptors are massive pipes that collect wastewater from smaller sewer lines and transport it to a wastewater treatment plant. Pump stations collect and pump wastewater from lower elevations to higher ones, enabling sewage transport when natural slopes are insufficient. Residents rely on this equipment to efficiently handle their wastewater whenever they flush the toilet.
EBMUD recently completed the replacement of Alameda’s Pump Station M on Bay Farm Island. In Fiscal Year 2027-2028, it will replace Pump Station H in the East End and rehabilitate the 60-inch diameter interceptor parallel to Webster Street crossing Marina Village Parkway.
Wildfire readiness
An attendee raised concerns about EBMUD’s wildfire preparedness in light of recent devastating fires in Southern California. General Manager Chan responded that no water system in the world is designed to put out the type of wind-driven fire that Southern California experienced.
Residential fire hydrants are not intended for massive fires engulfing entire neighborhoods. They are made for smaller fires encompassing up to three homes. Consequently, vegetation management is critical. EBMUD is the second-largest landowner in the East Bay (28,000 acres), second only to the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD). It spends $2.5 million annually managing vegetation to reduce fire risk.
Chan said collaboration is key. EBMUD regularly coordinates with EBRPD, UC Berkeley, cities, and counties on wildfire mitigation through the Oakland Hills Emergency Forum.
“The utilities, cities, and homeowners all have to work together to address this issue,” Chan said. He encouraged homeowners to maintain defensible space around their homes to lower fire risk significantly.
EBMUD makes water from local reservoirs available for aerial firefighting and works to increase water pressure to aid firefighters. It tops off water storage tanks on Red Flag days to maximize water availability for firefighting and performs regular hydrant maintenance and inspection.
Water quality and environmental concerns
One attendee asked about the problem of excess nutrients, particularly nitrogen, flowing into San Francisco Bay, fueling harmful algae blooms. Wastewater Director Mutsuddy responded that the State Water Resources Control Board is requiring treatment plants to reduce nitrogen discharges to certain low limits by 2035.
Ward 5 Director Oddie praised Mutsuddy and the entire wastewater engineering team for significantly cutting projected project costs, saying, “Had we not innovated, reducing nutrients could have cost ratepayers $2 billion. Now, we’re looking at around $200 million.”
Another attendee questioned “chemical content in the water.” General Manager Chan responded that residents can check water reports on the EBMUD website. Notably, EBMUD samples its water continuously, collecting over 20,000 samples yearly.
Rate increases
Finally, one resident asked the question on everyone’s mind: What will these vital improvements cost us?
While rates are proposed to increase in July 2025, Oddie confirmed they will remain reasonable. The median water customer, using about 125 gallons of water per day, can expect about a 12-cent increase per day in water fees and an eight-cent increase per day in wastewater fees.
World Water Day
In honor of World Water Day on March 22, EBMUD encourages residents to choose tap over bottled water due to its significantly lower cost and environmental impact as well as its comparable or superior quality. East Bay residents are especially fortunate to have high-quality tap water sourced from Sierra mountain snowmelt.
By contrast, studies have shown that bottled water can contain microplastics. Also, the production, transportation, and disposal of plastic water bottles contribute to pollution and greenhouse gases. Tap water has a far lower environmental footprint.
To help parents and teachers discuss with children where our drinking water comes from, how it is cleaned and treated, and why it is essential to care for the environment so we continue to have great drinking water on tap, EBMUD partnered with Grammy Award-winning and Oakland-based Alphabet Rockers to sing the story of water in a song called H2Flow.
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
