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2. Project Description <br />2. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION <br />2.1. Project Purpose and Objectives <br />The Proposed Project involves converting a 6.9-acre wastewater storage basin into a multi -benefit freshwater <br />treatment wetland. The primary purpose is to reduce the loading of wastewater -borne nitrogen, phosphorus, <br />and other contaminants, such as pharmaceutical compounds, into San Francisco Bay. Closely aligned <br />objectives include: <br />1) Enhance habitat along an accessible and visible stretch of the Bay Trail to improve wildlife resources <br />through the creation of wet meadow habitat once abundant along the shores of San Francisco Bay, yet <br />virtually non-existent today; <br />2) Create ecological and engineering -based educational opportunities within a densely urban and <br />industrialized portion of San Francisco Bay; <br />3) Demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel and potentially cost-effective contaminant removal process, <br />relying in part on lessons learned from the Oro Loma Sanitation District (OLSD) horizontal levee <br />project; and <br />4) Repurpose an underutilized wastewater retention basin to enhance aesthetic qualities and improve <br />operational capacity and flexibility within San Leandro's WPCP. <br />2.2. Project Background <br />In 2018, the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (SFBRA) awarded San Leandro a Measure AA grant to <br />plan and design a water quality improvement, shoreline restoration, and resiliency project. This includes the <br />conversion of an underutilized 6.9-acre wastewater storage basin adjacent to the WPCP into a multi -benefit <br />treatment wetland to improve the operational capacity of the WPCP, anticipate future nutrient regulations, <br />enhance habitat quality, and pilot a novel treatment wetland design. <br />This Project builds upon and relies on lessons learned from other California -based multi -benefit treatment <br />wetlands, including the OLSD horizontal levee project and unit -process treatment wetlands at the Discovery <br />Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant and Prado Wetlands in Riverside County. The latter two (2) projects utilized <br />shallow, open -water wetlands to achieve high removal of nitrate and pharmaceutical compounds. The Project <br />incorporates elements of open water shallow wetlands and horizontal levees to maximize nitrate removal and <br />create freshwater wetland habitat once abundant along the shores of SF Bay, yet virtually non-existent today. <br />Existing Facilities <br />San Leandro owns and operates its WPCP, located at 3000 Davis Street, San Leandro, CA 94577 (Figures 2.1 <br />and 2.2, Regional Location and Project Location). San Leandro's WPCP provides secondary wastewater <br />treatment for about 15,300 domestic, commercial, and industrial service connections throughout the northern <br />two-thirds of San Leandro, serving a population of about 60,000. <br />The WPCP has a design average daily dry weather design flow (ADWF) of 7.6 million gallons per day (mgd), <br />though ADWF has averaged 4.8 mgd in recent years. San Leandro discharges secondary treated effluent <br />through a common outfall to South SF Bay, which is managed and maintained by the East Bay Dischargers <br />Authority (EBDA), a Joint Exercise of Power Agency with other East Bay wastewater agencies. Facilities <br />discharging through EBDA's common outfall are regulated under NPDES Permit Order No. R2-2017-0016; <br />CA0037869. <br />San Leandro Treatment Wetland <br />IS/MND <br />