If water conservation is really a goal then this is the perfect time to install new pipes for recycled water.

Yes this would be expensive but I believe Palo Alto has recycled water available and over time using recycled water for irrigation would save 100's of millions of gallons of precious water.

This kind of irrigation will also recharge the aquifer instead of potentially depleting it.

In any case I think that this project will trigger a CEQA review as it could seriously impact the environment.

Conservation provisions are important.
Since this well is supposed to help with the city's supply in times of drought or emergency, there must be provisions that give the city priority for meeting community needs.
CEQA review is important. Before a decision is made, we need input from water professionals who can speak to the health and future of the aquifer in normal and drought times. Surely with the USGS located in Menlo Park we can find some easily.

This is not a project whose purpose is to provide emergency water to the city, those are other well projects. This well is specifically to provide water to the Sharon Heights Country Club to water their Golf Course. Some of the water may also be available to water some city parks or schools, but that would be the only benefit the city recieves.

The price of water will rise and Sharon Heights Country Club does not want to pay for it. This is an egregious attempt to steal from the public to benefit a few country club members who want a green golf course without paying for it. The City Council should say something about this immediately. My guess is someone on the city staff has been given a free membership to the country club or some other incentive.

It stinks, stinks, stinks. This is not an emergency well water project, the City of Menlo Park is not responsible for making sure a private country club has clean water for its golf course. If we need to ration water from Hetch Hetchy reservoir, shouldn't we start with golf courses anyway? At least make them pay more for water, that will get them to recycle water and use it more efficiently--maybe we can help them out with a once a week dog wash on the golf course grounds.

I really want to hear from a city council member, I hope they read this post.

Since the water is just for irrigation--Why not use the water from Searsville lake which is only
2 or 3 blocks away from the golf club?

"Why not use the water from Searsville lake which is only"

Because Stanford doesn't give away anything. Only politicians and city staff are stupid enough to give away valuable resources to people that can well afford to pay for those resources.