California isn’t recycling nearly enough water, according to a new report by UCLA researchers, who say the state should treat and reuse more wastewater to help address the Colorado River’s chronic shortages.
After an Orange County resident flushes her toilet, the water flows through the Southern California community’s sewer system, meanders its way to the sanitation plant, has its solids removed, is piped to a wastewater recycling facility next door and undergoes three different purification processes until it is clean enough to drink.
“It tastes like water,” said Mehul Patel, executive director of operations for the Orange County Water District’s project, after taking a gulp from a clear plastic cup at the sampling station, as he stood outside the final purification process facility on a warm afternoon earlier this month.
Water recycling — once dubbed “toilet-to-tap” by naysayers — has officially entered a new era in California.
This month, statewide regulations for what’s technically called “direct potable reuse” went into effect. The rules allow wastewater — yes, the water that goes down the drain or is flushed down the toilet — to be treated to drinkable standards then distributed directly to homes and businesses.
Try driving up Morena Boulevard in Mission Valley, or north through Bay Park and Clairemont, and chances are you’ll be bottlenecked by an army of orange traffic cones demarking a huge construction project that will consume northern San Diego for years to come.
The city of San Diego is currently building a massive wastewater-to-drinking water recycling system – but it must tear up the streets to do it. The new pipe route tunnels from Morena Pump Station near the San Diego International Airport, then 10 miles north to University City and then another 8 miles to Miramar Reservoir, the final stop for all our transformed toilet water.
Federal resource managers announced $99 million in funding for a large-scale water recycling project that will save enough water in Lake Mead to serve nearly 500,000 households in Southern California and Southern Nevada annually.
If there is one truism in California water, it is that there is not enough of it. In part to try to help address that issue, on December 19, 2023, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted the state’s first direct potable reuse (DPR) regulations. As detailed in the State Water Board’s press release, the new regulations represent the “most advanced standards in the nation,” provide a “climate-resilient water source,” and “add millions of gallons of additional drinking water.” However, is the picture quite that rosy?
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded Oceanside $201,000 for the city’s Water Recycling and Desalination Planning Project, it was announced Wednesday.
Oceanside received the award after applying for WaterSMART funding to investigate expanding water reuse and increasing water recharge, according to the city’s water utilities department.
The federal funding will be used to evaluate the expanded use of treated effluent at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility to produce recycled water, and expansion of the Advanced Water Purification Facility for groundwater recharge and higher quality recycled water and seawater desalination, according to the city.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program has been awarded a $2 million grant from the San Diego River Conservancy.
The California State Budget (FY 2022-23) appropriated the $2 million grant to the San Diego River Conservancy for the benefit of the East County AWP Joint Powers Authority.
The East County Advanced Water Purification project is progressing, with construction underway at multiple East San Diego County locations. The project will create a new, local, sustainable, and drought-proof water supply using state-of-the-art technology to purify East San Diego County’s recycled water.
Construction for the East County AWP is expected to be completed in 2025, and water production will begin in 2026. When completed, the project is expected to provide approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County residents and businesses.
The East County Advanced Water Purification project is progressing, with construction underway at multiple East San Diego County locations.
The project will create a new, local, sustainable, and drought-proof water supply using state-of-the-art technology to purify East San Diego County’s recycled water. Construction for the East County AWP is expected to be completed in 2025, and water production will begin in 2026. When completed, the project is expected to provide approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County residents and businesses.
When completed, the water recycling facility can treat 16 million gallons of water per day (MGD). The advanced water purification facility will be able to process 11.5 MGD. Photo: East County AWP
Water treatment facilities are under construction north of Santee Lakes. Concrete work is underway on the water recycling and solids handling facilities. About 24,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured, marking nearly 50% of the total concrete used at this site. Once complete, there will be enough concrete to fill 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Crews at the East County AWP construction site in Santee found this friendly tarantula. More tarantulas emerge from hiding as mating season is in full swing across San Diego County. Photo East County AWP
The advanced water purification facility and visitors center are also taking shape with the installation of underground piping and conduits.
When completed, the water recycling facility can treat 16 million gallons of water per day (MGD). The advanced water purification facility will be able to process 11.5 MGD.
Our crews have installed several cameras throughout the AWP worksite to show the progress of the project. This timelapse footage shows construction of the Water Recycling Facility from December 2022 through September 2023. #Santee #EastCountyAWP pic.twitter.com/RbF1akfrEX
— EastCountyAWP (@EastCountyAWP) September 25, 2023
Pipeline construction continues on Fanita Parkway north of Ganley in Santee. Biking and hiking access to the trails north of Ganley are temporarily located at the end of Strathmore to provide a safe space for construction.
Pipeline construction along Fanita Parkway north of Santee Lakes. Photo: East County AWP
The purified water pipeline will travel east through Santee and Lakeside, ending at Lake Jennings. Two additional pipelines will be constructed south of the new facilities past Carlton Oaks Drive to a pump station just south of the Carlton Oaks Golf Course.
Most pipeline work will be trenched, placed, and covered, while the remainder will be installed using trenchless technologies and methods. There may be some impacts from construction, including road travel delays. Construction hours vary depending on the project elements being completed.
The purified water pipeline running from the advanced water purification facility north of Santee Lakes to Lake Jennings is 10.2 miles long.
An interactive construction map tracks project construction sites and work progress. Photo: East County AWP
An interactive map allows viewers to zoom in and click on project areas to find active construction zones, schedules, work hours, and other information. Communication will include mailers, email updates, road signs, interactive maps, webpage updates, and presentations to community groups throughout the project area.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground on June 1, 2022, marking an important milestone for the recycled water project in San Diego County. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The June 2022 groundbreaking followed the approval of project construction on May 19, 2022, by the East County AWP Joint Powers Authority that owns and operates the Program. The Joint Powers Authority is a collaborative partnership between four agencies: Padre Dam, the City of El Cajon, the County of San Diego and Helix Water District. The project is estimated to create 2,500 jobs in the region.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program will create a new, local, sustainable and drought-proof drinking water supply by using state-of-the-art technology to purify East San Diego County’s recycled water to produce up to 30% of East County’s drinking water supply. Graphic: East County AWP
(Editor’s note: The Padre Dam Municipal Water District and the Helix Water District are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
