City officials in Oceanside described their drinking water as consistently “high-quality, safe and reliable” Wednesday in the hope of reassuring residents after a lawn care company ranked its water at 198 out of 200 cities nationwide. Rosemarie Chora, the city’s water utilities division manager, said a March 23 report from LawnStarter “hit big” as residents expressed alarm on social media.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has awarded a $1 million grant for the first phase of construction of the Loma Alta Slough wetlands enhancement project. The work, which could begin in late 2022, will restore and enhance six acres of coastal wetland and upland habitat along the Loma Alta Creek near Buccaneer Beach in south Oceanside. Plans include more than 1,500 feet of nature trails with educational signs and connections to nearby facilities such as Buccaneer Park.
Oceanside is pushing to complete a comprehensive update of its General Plan in 2021, the first overall revision since the plan was created in the 1970s.
Oceanside finished second in a national water conservation challenge among cities with populations between 100,000 and 299,999, behind only Lakeland, Florida, it was announced Wednesday. During the month of August, Oceanside residents pledged to save water and protect the environment as part of the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.
Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss is among mayors across the country who are urging their communities to use water wisely and join Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.
The City of Oceanside received an Award of Excellence during the WateReuse Association virtual conference in June 2020. Oceanside received the Recycled Water Agency of the Year for small systems, which recognizes an agency that has developed recycled water, on a significant level, as an alternative water source within their service area, regionally, or statewide.
The development of water reuse programs addresses a variety of challenges currently faced by the City. Today, Oceanside imports most of its water from the Sacramento Bay Delta and the Colorado River, both of which are hundreds of miles away. In order to gain greater water-independence, the Oceanside City Council set a goal of a 50% local water supply by 2030. After almost a decade of regional and local planning efforts, the City of Oceanside has developed a comprehensive water reuse program including expanding water recycling and advanced water purification. The planning efforts have taken place since 2010 and have laid the groundwork for the City’s recycled water and potable reuse programs.
“The City of Oceanside is proud to receive the Recycled Water Agency of the Year Award,” said Cari Dale, City of Oceanside water utilities director. “Our staff works hard to ensure the City continues to increase our local water supply reliability and provide multiple benefits to our residents and businesses by reusing our water resources to their fullest potential.”
Construction is underway for the $67 million Pure Water Oceanside project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2021. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The City of Oceanside has 1.2 miles of recycled pipeline that distributed nearly 70 million gallons (236-acre feet) per year. The distribution system currently supplies recycled water to the Oceanside Municipal Golf Course, Goat Hills Golf Course, and El Corazon Sport Complex.
Oceanside is currently expanding its recycled water system in two phases. Phase 1 will add approximately seven miles of distribution pipelines and approximately 10 miles of additional distribution pipelines will be added for Phase 2. Recycled water customers will include commercial users with significant irrigation demands for landscaping such as golf courses, HOAs, City parks, as well as industrial and agricultural customers.
The City is also pursuing an advanced water purification project called Pure Water Oceanside. The project will create between 3 to 5 million gallons a day of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof, and exceptionally pure.
Purified water, like the water created through Pure Water Oceanside, starts with recycled water that is further treated through proven advanced water purification processes to create clean and safe drinking water. The water purification process uses state-of-the-art purification steps that replicates and accelerates nature’s natural recycling process. Scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021, Pure Water Oceanside will be the first operating advanced water purification facility in San Diego County.
Through the expansion of recycled water and the development of Pure Water Oceanside, Oceanside has demonstrated leadership, creativity, and persistence in the development of a comprehensive water reuse program. Oceanside is well on its way to meet the City Council’s goal of 50% local water supply by 2030. By 2023 33% of Oceanside’s water supply will be local, which will increase to 56% by 2030.
This feature highlights water utility employees in the San Diego region working during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure a safe, reliable and plentiful water supply. The water industry is among the sectors that are classified as essential. Ron Lutge, City of Oceanside Chief Plant Operator, is the Water Utility Hero of the Week.
The California Department of Water Resources has awarded a $275,800 grant to the City of Oceanside to design a comprehensive riparian habitat and streambank restoration project for a segment of Buena Vista Creek in southeast Oceanside. The planning work will identify a feasible restoration design, conduct community outreach and complete preliminary environmental documentation for future restoration work.
With farmers markets closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a family who has been farming in Southern California for more than a century is taking its produce directly to homes throughout North County and beyond.
For the last three years, Yasukochi Family Farm has been putting together and delivering CSA (community supported agriculture) boxes full of fresh produce.
“They’re buying local vegetables,” said Donal Yasukochi explaining how the community is supporting the operation. “It helps us stay in business.”
The City of Oceanside has created a utility service relief program for businesses that must remain closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the program is to support Oceanside’s local business community and provide relief for water, sewer and solid waste utility services by temporarily stopping all utility services and charges.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
