The Colorado River is the backbone of the West’s water supply. The river provides water to hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and 40 million people in seven U.S. states (California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada) and northern Mexico. But overuse, a 23-year “megadrought” and aridification fueled by the climate crisis has left the river stretched far too thin.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom today unveiled a broad strategy for bolstering the state’s water supply that includes targets to recycle more water, expand reservoir storage and collect more data on the amounts farmers use.
Newsom warned that new strategies are essential because California’s water supply will shrink by 10% as climate change brings warmer, drier conditions throughout the state.
California should invest tens of billions of dollars in water recycling, storage and desalination over the next two decades to shore up its supply as the state gets drier and hotter, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a proposal released Thursday.
It comes as drought continues to grip the U.S. West and the state prepares to lose 10% of its water supply by 2040, according to projections by the Department of Water Resources.
It’s easy to take for granted. You turn a knob, and there’s water. But, the drought has shown we need to think more about our water supply.
Some agencies which serve part of the Conejo Valley are on the cutting edge of water recycling. The idea is simple: turn wastewater into drinking water.
They have a demonstration facility on Las Virgenes Road where you can actually see the recycling in action.
As drought conditions worsen in California, the San Elijo Joint Powers Authority is partnering with the San Dieguito and Olivenhain Municipal water districts to expand water recycling in north San Diego County.
The three districts’ cooperation in the planning and building of recycled water infrastructure dates to the early 1990s. Today, the agencies are planning a $2.2 million rehabilitation of the Wanket Reservoir. The San Dieguito and Olivenhain water districts built the 3-million-gallon reservoir in 1974.
The concrete tank, which overlooks the Encinitas Ranch Golf Course east of Quail Gardens Drive, was last used to store potable water in 2008, as water conservation efforts and more-efficient indoor plumbing rendered the tank unnecessary.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground, marking an important milestone for the recycled water project in San Diego County. Scheduled to be complete in 2026, the East County AWP will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day of purified water— meeting approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground, marking an important milestone for the recycled water project in San Diego County.
Scheduled to be complete in 2026, the East County AWP will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day of purified water— meeting approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County residents and businesses.
Program representatives, elected officials and water industry leaders gathered at the future site of the treatment facility in Santee to celebrate the East County AWP. The project will create a new, local, sustainable and drought-proof drinking water supply using state-of-the-art technology to purify East San Diego County’s recycled water.
Officials in attendance included representatives from the East County AWP Joint Powers Authority, San Diego County Water Authority, Bureau of Reclamation, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“In 2045, potable reuse projects are going to provide up to 20% of the water that we need here in San Diego County,” said San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “This region has been excellent in its innovation and planning for water needs for the region and this project is just another step in that process. I want to congratulate everyone involved in this project in developing another drought-resilient supply for the region.”
“In this year when many areas of California and the West are facing extreme hardships with drought, the East County AWP is really another step forward in reliability for its water supply partners and the region.” — @sdcwa G.M. Sandra L. Kerl, https://t.co/k1Wh7QxzGf pic.twitter.com/sc97zUFaZw
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) June 1, 2022
The groundbreaking follows approval of project construction on May 19, 2022, by the East County AWP Joint Powers Authority that owns and operates the Program and is a collaborative partnership between four agencies: Padre Dam, the City of El Cajon, the County of San Diego and Helix Water District. The overall cost for the project is $950 million and estimated to create 2,500 jobs in the region.
The project will use four advanced water purification steps to produce water that is near-distilled in quality.
“Today marks an exciting moment for our East San Diego County customers,” said Allen Carlisle, Padre Dam and JPA Administrator CEO/General Manager. “We are now one step closer to creating a local, reliable and sustainable drinking water source that will reduce our dependence on increasingly expensive imported water. The East County Advanced Water Purification Program is a smart investment that provides a long-term solution for increased stability in our communities and safeguards the vitality of our economy and quality of life.”
After the advanced water purification process, the purified water will be blended with water in Lake Jennings and treated again at Helix Water District’s R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant before being distributed as drinking water.
“In addition to providing a new local water supply, the Program will eliminate the need to send most of East County’s wastewater to the City of San Diego’s Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is currently treated and then discharged into the ocean,” said Kyle Swanson, Padre Dam Incoming CEO/General Manager. “The East County Advanced Water Purification Program will benefit not only our customers and the community, but our shared environment too.”
The East County AWP has secured more than $123 million in grant funding and up to $796 million in low interest loans to help finance the project. East County AWP officials anticipate receiving additional state and federal grant funding to help pay for the project.
“As California adapts to an increasingly arid climate, expanding our water supply portfolio with 21st century investments in water recycling, like the East County Advanced Water Purification program is critical,” said Joaquin Esquivel, Chair, State Water Resources Control Board. “Thanks to state and federal leadership, we have a generational opportunity to support the affordability and viability of this and other water supply projects throughout the state. Local leadership and vision are what have made this project a reality and helped to show that we can turn climate anxiety into climate action.”
(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.)
San Diego’s top brass offered on Thursday to pony up more than $33 million to resolve a hotly disputed pipeline deal between the city and East County concerning two large water recycling projects.
The move comes as the parties inch closer to what could become a protracted legal battle, with serious implications for the East County Advanced Water Purification Project and the city’s massive $5 billion Pure Water sewage recycling venture.
East County officials fear a $950 million sewage recycling project could get flushed down the drain because of a pipeline deal gone awry.
Leaders spearheading the endeavor blame San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria — who signed off on building an eight-mile “brine line” as recently as last year but has since reneged on that commitment.
The pipeline would prevent concentrated waste generated by the East County project’s reverse osmosis filtration system from entering into the city’s own $5 billion Pure Water sewage recycling project now under construction. Instead the byproduct would be routed into the city’s larger wastewater system.
Neighborhoods across northern San Diego will be disrupted by tunneling and pipeline construction this summer when work kicks into high gear on Pure Water, the largest infrastructure project in city history.
With contracts totaling more than $1 billion recently awarded for eight of the 10 major projects that make up Pure Water’s first phase, city officials say nearly the entire project will be under construction starting in late summer or early fall.
