In his Aug. 2 Herald commentary, Grant Leonard claimed that Cal Am’s proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project would be a win-win for both Castroville, a disadvantaged community, and Carmel, which is on the other side of the economic spectrum. Some things challenge that claim.
Why would a public agency support an unnecessary and risky billion-dollar desalination plant and let a private utility profit hundreds of millions of dollars at the public’s expense? Here’s the story.
Amid continuing debate over the role the proposed Pure Water Monterey recycled water project expansion will play in the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply, the proposal has reached a key stage.
A newly opened water treatment plant in Monterey, Calif., will replenish a vital regional groundwater resource with recycled water at a rate of millions of gallons per day. On an annual basis, the Pure Water Monterey treatment plant will inject at least 3,500 acre feet of water, equivalent to more than a billion gallons, into the Seaside Basin.
For two decades, Monterey One Water, formerly the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency, has been recycling wastewater for irrigation in what’s called the “salad bowl of the world” where almost two-thirds of American leaf lettuce is grown. In addition to purifying wastewater, Pure Water is expanding to recycle agricultural drainage water, agricultural wash water and storm water runoff.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
