I see two issues in the possible switch from Hercules sending wastewater to Pinole to sending wastewater to the West County treatment plant (WCWD)…

(1) Is it in the City’s best long-term interest to complete a full switch to WCWD? Yes, and I’d also argue that it is in both city’s best interest to do so — for Hercules and Pinole. There is limited space at the existing treatment plant in Pinole to expand to facilitate the increased demands from Hercules’ growth, and although a switch will be costly in terms of upfront costs, the long-term benefits are immense.

(2) If the City is interested and inclined to make the switch to WCWD, shouldn’t they just come out and say it? Probably. From my perspective of living in Hercules, and as a proponent of smart development along the waterfront, Pinole is being stubborn in its insistence that the only solution is an upgrade, foolish in not understanding the ultimate value in decommissioning and redeveloping the plant, and also naive with Hercules’ intentions. On the other hand, is Hercules being coy? Sure, this has become Nelson Oliva’s M.O. at this point. Hercules should simply come out and say it — we want to send our waste to WCWD, which will likely financially require Pinole to do the same, so maybe Pinole can get their act together and redevelop their waterfront to match what Hercules is trying to do.

Additionally, Pinole and Hercules will be spending a lot of money on restoring Pinole Creek soon, and the terminus at the end of the creek is a wastewater treatment plant, not the greatest of destinations. (There are benches out there, but no one sits in them for long.) Pinole has valuable waterfront property that is better served than an aging wastewater treatment facility. It should also be noted that the potential environmental impacts for the alternatives — an upgrade of the existing Pinole plant vs. a switch to WCWD — strongly suggests that a switch to WCWD will be better; the required upgrades to the existing facility will deleteriously impact the surrounding coastline and wetlands.