To state the obvious: California has a water problem. That’s why more than 6 million Southern Californians can water outside only once or twice a week as of June 1.
But experts say conservation alone can’t solve our water woes. So what does water security look like in a drier future? This story focuses on one piece of the puzzle: recycling wastewater. Let’s dig in.
Construction has started on a $950 million water purification plant in Santee that will provide enough drinking water to serve an estimated 500,000 people and businesses in East County.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program will daily produce up to 11.5 million gallons of potable water which amounts to about 30% of the drinking water used by East County residents and businesses.
People wearing business suits and hard hats broke ground Wednesday in Santee for the East County Advanced Water Purification Plant.
It’s part of a plan of four East County water agencies to take wastewater, that’s now treated and dumped in the ocean, and turn it into water that’s clean enough to drink.
The water recycling plant is expected to provide 11.5 million gallons a day of purified wastewater for East County ratepayers.
San Diego County officials Wednesday will introduce a new water-testing technology they will begin using the very next day to provide same-day public warnings of poor coastal water quality that causes illness.
San Diego leaders say the results will be more accurate and posted within hours instead of the next day, reducing the time the public could be at risk if water is contaminated.
COVID-19 wastewater data now shows that the record spread of the virus in San Diego is beginning to fall.
“We’re coming off the surge for sure,” said UC San Diego Professor Rob Knight. “However, it’s possible that cases will continue to rise or maybe peak around now.”
Knight leads the project that has been analyzing San Diegans sewage from the Point Loma treatment plan over the last two years. He said wastewater is a leading indicator of the virus’ spread, with data typically three weeks ahead of confirmed cases.
This past summer, as California faced a historic drought, reservoirs used by the small city of Healdsburg dropped to record lows.
“It puts us in a situation where we just simply don’t have enough water to go about our normal daily practices,” says Terry Crowley, the city’s utility director.
He says to conserve water, Healdsburg needed to slash consumption by 40%. City officials limited household use and banned watering ornamental lawns.
Federal officials are investigating why millions of gallons of sewage-laden water isn’t making its way from Tijuana to the international wastewater treatment plant in the U.S. Instead, that untreated wastewater is flowing into San Diego through a border drain, which indicates there’s probably a broken pipe or a clog somewhere in Tijuana.
The runaway flow began Jan. 7 around 1:30 p.m. when almost a million gallons of sewage escaped from Tijuana through Stewart’s Drain, which sits just east of the International Wastewater Treatment plant operated by the International Boundary Water Commission.
Two state agencies recognized the city’s Public Utilities Department for monitoring wastewater in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a city spokesman said Monday.
The Public Utilities Department was one of five California utilities that participated in the Center for Disease Control’s National Wastewater Surveillance System program, in cooperation with the state Water Quality Control Board.
The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department’s wastewater monitoring of coronavirus has received recognition from two state agencies.
The City’s Public Utilities Department was one of five California utilities participating in the Center for Disease Control’s National Wastewater Surveillance System program in cooperation with the State Water Quality Control Board.
The California Water Monitoring Council cited the City’s wastewater monitoring efforts, including its participation in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services pilot studies to investigate the logistics of implementing wastewater-based epidemiology nationally.
“The monitoring of wastewater can provide key information that is helpful in understanding and preventing the spread of COVID-19,” said Shauna Lorance, Director of the Public Utilities Department. “We are very proud to continue providing assistance to state and federal agencies with these efforts.”
The California Water Monitoring Council cited the City’s wastewater monitoring efforts, including its participation in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services pilot studies to investigate the logistics of implementing wastewater-based epidemiology nationally. Photo: City of San Diego
Multiple California agencies and institutions pioneered an approach to better assess the spread of COVID-19 through testing wastewater. This approach yields information about the prevalence of the disease in populations several days sooner than individual testing or hospitalization records, according to the California State Water Quality Control Board.
Both the Control Board and the California Water Monitoring Council expressed their appreciation for the City’s assistance in separate resolutions.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the City of San Diego has been voluntarily involved with multiple studies for COVID-19 monitoring of wastewater. City staff efforts began before the development of federal and state epidemiology programs. Data collected by City staff played a critical role in understanding the spread, movement, and control of the virus. The City will share information from the studies with the public when they are completed.
The City of San Diego processes wastewater at its Point Loma treatment plant. Photo: City of San Diego
The City participated in additional wastewater studies related to COVID-19, including those by San Diego State University, the University of Arizona, and the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project.
San Diego’s collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater are carefully monitored and meet all regulations ensuring the health and safety of its employees, community members, and the environment. While the presence and viability of COVID -19 in wastewater is still being examined by the scientific community, the City’s wastewater treatment process has proven to be very effective in removing other commonly found viruses and bacteria.
(Editor’s note: The City of San Diego is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
An “unprecedented” spike in COVID-19 viral load in wastewater collected from San Diego County’s primary wastewater treatment facility was reported Saturday by UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers.
The amount of COVID-19 virus detected in wastewater has predicted the region’s COVID-19 caseload up to three weeks ahead of clinical diagnostic reports, the researchers said. Since people with COVID-19 shed the virus in their stool even before they experience symptoms, wastewater screening acts as an early warning system.
“The wastewater screening results reported on Friday are unlike any the team has seen before,” said Jackie Carr of UC San Diego Health. Both Delta and Omicron variants of the virus were detected in the wastewater.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
