With much of California and other western U.S. states experiencing significant drought, the need to pursue further advancements in desalination has never been greater. This was a central theme of an Aug. 11 webinar, titled “Discussion on Desalination — Treatments, Research, and the Future,” conducted by the WateReuse Association.
The city of Antioch’s water supply has been challenged in recent years by a variety of factors. But the Brackish Water Desalination Project, the first desalination project of its kind in the five-county Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region, is intended to improve the reliability of the city’s water.
The city filed its notice of preparation for the project just over four years ago and then broke ground on the plant in February of this year.
Shattering the stillness of a frigid January moonlit sky, the sunrise’s amber aura glimmers over the Tinajas Altas mountain range — giving way to a sandscape of semi-succulent shrubs.
The sun’s increasingly insistent rays animate an otherwise desolate desert corridor that links the city of Yuma, Arizona, to the San Luis Port of Entry along the U.S.-Mexico border. White school buses shuttle Mexican agricultural workers to Arizonan farm acreage, home to America’s heartland of winter leafy greens.
With the city’s sewage water recycling system moving forward and the desalination plant in Carlsbad already pumping out drinkable water, the San Diego region has some of the most ambitious water projects in the state.
Those are part of a long-term strategy that San Diego water managers say will provide the region sufficient supplies through 2045.
Nevertheless, the San Diego County Water Authority earlier this month urged customers to voluntarily reduce water use by 15 percent following a similar statewide request by Gov. Gavin Newsom. It was more an act of solidarity than one of actual need.
With the city’s sewage water recycling system moving forward and the desalination plant in Carlsbad already pumping out drinkable water, the San Diego region has some of the most ambitious water projects in the state.
Those are part of a long-term strategy that San Diego water managers say will provide the region sufficient supplies through 2045.
Nevertheless, the San Diego County Water Authority earlier this month urged customers to voluntarily reduce water use by 15 percent following a similar statewide request by Gov. Gavin Newsom. It was more an act of solidarity than one of actual need.
Read the rest of the column by Michael Smolens in The San Diego Union-Tribune: https://bit.ly/3sPTS0u
(Editors note: This is an excerpt from a column written by Michael Smolens)
An update on San Diego’s water supply during the current drought, and how climate change affects regional weather, was the main focus of a recent event sponsored by several organizations.
The Citizens Water Academy, Leaders 20/20 and San Diego Green Drinks hosted a lunch and learn session August 17 that also provided details on how weather and climate impacts water supplies, and how prepared the San Diego region is for drought impacts.
Singapore is using desalination as part of the solution to provide enough clean drinking water for its ever-growing population of 5.5 million. Though surrounded by water, having enough drinking water has always been a challenge for this island state. Currently the demand for drinking water is up to 430 million gallons a day. The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant is the latest step of Singapore using advanced technology to help address their water challenge.
A new display added to the Chula Vista Hydro Station helps students learn about the water treatment process through interactive activities.
This unique joint educational partnership between the Sweetwater Authority, the Otay Water District, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District, the Hydro Station opened two years ago on August 15, at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility.
A new display added to the Chula Vista Hydro Station helps students learn about the water treatment process through interactive activities.
This unique joint educational partnership between the Sweetwater Authority, the Otay Water District, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD), the Hydro Station opened two years ago on August 15, at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility.
The Hydro Station project is an interactive educational space that features learning exhibits and hands-on activities dedicated to introducing fifth-grade students to the ecological cycle of water, water conservation, water quality, and careers in the water industry. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
“We’re excited to welcome students back to the Hydro Station this year and use this interactive display to teach them how we use desalination to treat local drought-proof groundwater for our customers,” said Hector Martinez, Sweetwater Authority board chairman.
More than 4,000 students visit the Hydro Station annually and learn more about careers and opportunities in the water and wastewater industry.
The Sweetwater Authority and CVESD worked together to create the new display for students. The display was made possible through a grant from the Hans and Margaret Doe Charitable Trust, awarded to the Hydro Station project in 2019. The display will be worked into the Hydro Station curriculum and help teach CVESD students from the Otay Water District and the Authority’s service areas about the desalination process.
“The addition of this new interactive display demonstrates that education is always evolving, as is the water industry,” said Otay Board President Tim Smith. “As a partner of the Hydro Station, we’re proud to offer enhanced opportunities to students because they are our future water workforce.”
The Hydro Station is an interactive educational space at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facilities, operated as a joint partnership between the school district, the Otay Water District, and the Sweetwater Authority. Photo: Chula Vista Elementary School District
The Hydro Station is an interactive educational space that features learning exhibits and hands-on activities dedicated to introducing fifth-grade students to the ecological cycle of water, water conservation, water quality, and careers in the water industry. More than 4,000 students are expected to visit the Hydro Station annually.
“The Hydro Station introduces our students to the world of work in the water industry and inspires them at an early age to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics,” said CVESD Superintendent Dr. Francisco Escobedo. “With this station, we expose students to careers that can change the trajectory of entire families, opening the door to high-wage careers that our students might not have thought were possible. The students also explore ways to make the world a better place through clean water and water conservation.”
Locally, more than 2,800 people work in the water and wastewater sector at the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. One-third of these industry professionals will be eligible for retirement in the next few years. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
Locally, more than 2,800 people work in the water and wastewater sector at the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. One-third of these industry professionals will be eligible for retirement in the next few years. The Hydro Station allows a new generation of potential water professionals to participate in the mission to deliver safe and reliable water to hundreds and thousands of people in communities who rely on this essential workforce.
Students participate in three dedicated days focused on career opportunities in Information and Communication Technologies, Clean Energy, and the Blue Economy. Students learn how their strengths, interests, and values may align with career options, and hands-on activities will help them connect to specific careers.
The Hydro Station location gives students a hands-on opportunity to explore how their strengths, interests, and values can connect with careers in the water industry while presenting opportunities to solve real-world problems through the Engineering Design Process. It also educates children and their families, as well as the community, on the thoughtful use of water resources.
(Editor’s note: The Otay Water District and Sweetwater Authority are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
Even on an overcast, dewy day at the beach, drought conditions are of concern.
In July, Governor Gavin Newsom urged everyone across the state to cut their water use by 15%, but some water experts say that may not be enough.
“For us in San Diego County, we live in an arid region and we should be really behaving like we live in a drought 365 days of the year,” said Ian Monahan said, director of marketing and philanthropy for I Lova A Clean San Diego, an environmental non-profit focused on zero waste.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
