Tag Archive for: Recycled Water

Pure Water Oceanside Gets $69 Million Loan

Oceanside has been awarded a $69 million loan to help finance the innovative Pure Water project that broke ground with a ceremony at the San Luis Rey Valley site in February.

The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation loan from the federal Environmental Protection Agency will cover nearly half of the project’s $158 million costs, city officials said. The 1.2 percent interest rate is expected to save an estimated $24 million over typical market financing costs.

In a Dry State, Farmers Use Oil Wastewater to Irrigate Their Fields, but is it Safe?

For decades, farmers in California’s Kern County have turned to wastewater from oil production to help irrigate their crops during extended dry spells. The wastewater provides an alternative to groundwater, which has become increasingly scarce as farmers have pumped more than they could replenish.

Recycled water-Olivenhain Municipal Water District-APWA-collaboration

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Recycled Water Expansion Project is Project of the Year

Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Recycled Water Pipeline Extension 153A was recognized September 10 as a 2020 Project of the Year by the San Diego and Imperial County Chapter of the American Public Works Association at its virtual awards event.

The pipeline extension connected the Surf Cup Sports youth soccer fields in San Diego to OMWD’s recycled water distribution system. By allowing Surf Cup to convert the irrigation of 55 acres of grass fields to recycled water, OMWD has reduced potable water demands for irrigation by up to 100 million gallons per year.

“OMWD’s board is honored to receive this award for a collaborative project, which expanded the use of recycled water while protecting the environment,” said OMWD Board Treasurer Larry Watt. “Additionally, state grant funding helped pay for the project, reducing costs for our ratepayers.”

Project of the Year will save up to 100 million gallons of potable water annually

The project involved the installation of 1,600 feet of 8-inch PVC pipeline that required specialized drilling and interagency cooperation to be completed. The pipeline needed to cross the San Dieguito River, causing design, permitting, and construction obstacles. OMWD’s design team used horizontal directional drilling to install the pipeline more than sixty feet below the river bottom.

Horizontal directional drilling reduces not only surface area damage, but also environmental impacts from construction site dust, making it less impactful to nearby habitat and communities than traditional excavation work.

Interagency cooperation benefits wildlife

OMWD worked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on a streambed alteration agreement to ensure the protection of fish and wildlife habitat. OMWD also worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect nesting birds such as the federally listed clapper rail and barn owl.

By OMWD taking proactive steps, such as daily biological sweeps of the project and inspections of the trenchless process, there was no adverse impact to habitat or species in the project area.

City of San Diego, Santa Fe Irrigation District collaboration with OMWD

Interagency cooperation was also required for the project. The property is served water by Santa Fe Irrigation District and owned by the City of San Diego. While SFID did not have nearby recycled water infrastructure, it wanted to provide Surf Cup fields with a drought-resilient water supply. The OMWD pipeline project meets that need.  The San Diego City Council approved a permanent utility easement allowing crews to access the property.

Grant funds support regional water management efforts

California’s Department of Water Resources awarded $202,300 for the project in Proposition 84 funding, which is administered by water wholesaler San Diego County Water Authority through the Integrated Regional Water Management program. The San Diego IRWM Program supports collaborative water management to increase regional self-reliance throughout California.

APWA is a professional association of public works agencies, private companies, and individuals dedicated to promoting public awareness through education, advocacy, and the exchange of knowledge. The APWA San Diego and Imperial County chapter annually recognizes the best public works projects and professionals in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The Project of the Year award is also intended to highlight the collaboration and cooperation between public and private agencies, contractors, and consultants, to complete public works projects.

Olivenhain Recycled Water Expansion Project Named APWA Project of the Year

Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Recycled Water Pipeline Extension 153A was recognized today as a 2020 Project of the Year by the San Diego and Imperial County Chapter of the American Public Works Association at its virtual awards event.

Pursuing Independent Water Sources, San Diego Ignores One Beneath Its Feet

San Diego is not well endowed with many freshwater sources to support its growing population, so some water experts are perplexed the city’s ignoring a self-replenishing local groundwater source that, though small in size, is safe from the threat of natural disasters and reliably recharged by the San Diego River.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Recycled Water Expansion Project Named ‘Project of the Year’

Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Recycled Water Pipeline Extension 153A was recognized recently as a 2020 Project of the Year by the San Diego and Imperial County Chapter of the American Public Works Association at its virtual awards event, according to a news release.

Opinion: Water Recycling Project Fits Needs on Monterey Peninsula Better than Proposed Desalination Plant

Expansion of the Pure Water Monterey recycled water project is the best option for the Monterey region to meet its future water supply needs. Unfortunately, California American Water Co., a private water supplier, is discrediting the project in the hopes of instead getting approval for their much more costly, oversized and environmentally harmful groundwater desalination project to be built in, around and through the city of Marina.

Pure Water Monterey Supply Set for Extraction, Use on Peninsula

Pure Water Monterey is finally poised to make water available for the Monterey Peninsula, providing a new water supply source for the area while allowing a reduction in Carmel River water usage albeit at a considerably reduced rate to start than was expected.

Last weekend, Monterey One Water announced that it had completed a 1,000-acre-foot recycled water reserve in the Seaside basin and that California American Water could start extracting additional water from the basin equivalent to the amount of recycled water being pumped into the basin beyond the reserve.

Water: Coastal Commission Staff Again Advises Desal Project Denial

Nine months after the Coastal Commission conducted its first hearing on California American Water’s proposed desalination project, commission staff has again recommended denial of the project in favor of a Pure Water Monterey expansion proposal.

On Tuesday, commission staff released a 154-page staff report essentially reiterating its previous arguments against the Cal Am desal project, including its relative cost, environmental impact and controversial nature. It touted the “feasible and environmentally preferable” recycled water project as a viable alternative in the Monterey Peninsula’s long-running attempts to develop a replacement water supply to offset the state ordered Carmel River cutback order.

Olivenhain MWD Continues to Expand Recycled Water Use

Earlier this month Olivenhain Municipal Water District announced they began supplying locally produced recycled water to the Seagate Village Homeowner Association in Encinitas.

The project is a collaboration between OMWD and San Elijo Joint Powers Authority since 2014 to bring recycled water to the Village Park neighborhood. San Elijo Water Campus, located in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, uses a combination of sand filtration, microfiltration, and reverse osmosis to produce high-quality water for irrigation and industrial uses.