Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 2, 2008
4. Water Quality
WATER RECLAMATION:
O.C. sewage will soon be drinking water; A $490-million plant will clean effluent to state standards, then inject it into the groundwater basin for further filtration - Los Angeles Times
Funding to recycle water is untapped; Millions available should S.D. ask - San Diego Union Tribune
WATER RECLAMATION:
O.C. sewage will soon be drinking water; A $490-million plant will clean effluent to state standards, then inject it into the groundwater basin for further filtration
By Dan Weikel, staff writer
As a hedge against water shortages and population growth,
The new purification system at the Orange County Water District headquarters in
Almost four years after construction began, the facility is now purifying effluent from a neighboring sewage treatment plant run by the Orange County Sanitation District, a partner in the venture.
The finished product will be injected into the county's vast groundwater basin to combat saltwater intrusion and supplement drinking water supplies for 2.3 million people in coastal, central and northern
But before that can be done, state health officials must certify that the reclaimed water meets drinking water standards. Officials expect the approval to be granted before opening ceremonies Jan. 25.
"Our sources from the delta and the
Last month, for example, a federal judge in
If the reclamation plant's full potential is realized, officials say, up to 130 million gallons a day could be added to the county's fresh water supply, lessening the region's dependence on outside sources.
Basically, the facility takes treated sewage, which would have been discharged into the sea, and runs it through an advanced filtration system.
Officials say the final product is as clean as distilled water and so pure that lime has to be added to it to keep it from leaching minerals out of concrete pipes, thus weakening them.
The effluent is first pumped into the reclamation plant from the sanitation district's sewage treatment facility next door. The brackish water, which smells of deodorizer, flows into 26 holding basins equipped with 270 million micro-filters -- thin straws of porous material with holes no bigger than three-hundredths the thickness of a human hair.
>From there, the water is forced under high pressure through a series of thin plastic membranes housed in rows of white cylinders. Next, it is dosed with hydrogen peroxide and bombarded with ultraviolet light to neutralize any remaining contaminants.
At this point, the water is free of bacteria, viruses, carcinogens, hormones, chemicals, toxic heavy metals, fertilizers, pesticides and dissolved pharmaceuticals.
Though it is good enough to drink, the scrubbing isn't finished. Once the state approves, up to 70 million gallons of treated water a day will be pumped into the county's giant underground aquifer. It will be cleansed further as it percolates through the earth to depths up to 1,000 feet.
"This is as advanced a reclamation system as you are going to get right now," said Krista Clark, director of regulatory affairs for the Assn. of California Water Agencies, a nonprofit organization that represents 450 government authorities. "It will keep
At $550 per acre-foot, the recycled water is slightly more expensive than supplies brought in from
Officials say the reclamation process uses less electricity than moving the same amount of water to
The reclamation plant also will dramatically reduce the volume of treated sewage discharged daily off the
If so, the county might not have to build a new $300-million ocean outfall, said James M. Ferryman, chairman of the sanitation district board of directors.
Sanitation and water district officials hope the new plant will become a model for governments trying to cope with water shortages, drought and the increasing demands of growing populations.
Projects similar to
More than a decade ago,
"Cheap political shots have closed some of these efforts," said Connor Everts, executive director of the Southern California Watershed Alliance, an environmental group based in
In
The outreach effort has resulted in endorsements from scores of elected officials as well as civic, community and environmental organizations.
Public acceptance was also helped by the fact that since 1976 the county has been pumping about 15 million gallons of reclaimed sewer water a day into the groundwater basin to protect it from saltwater intrusion.
For decades, the aquifer has been plagued by saltwater that flows in as fresh water is pumped out of underground reservoirs along the coast. The condition can be checked and reduced by injecting treated water back into the ground to act as a shield.
District officials estimate that 90% of the treated water from the district's old reclamation plant -- Water Factory 21 -- has made it into the county's drinking water supply without a risk to public health.
"We are really just helping ourselves," Ferryman said. "Communities are waking up, especially those in semiarid regions. They are beginning to realize that you need reliability in your water supplies."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-reclaim2jan02,1,732425.story?coll=la-headlines-california
Funding to recycle water is untapped; Millions available should S.D. ask
By Mike Lee, staff writer
More than a decade ago, officials in
Undeterred, they secured grants and low-cost loans, and pooled $480 million.
The investment will culminate any day as water and sewer agencies in
In
Sanders' position rests largely on financial grounds. He said mixing reclaimed wastewater with other drinking water in a city reservoir, an idea dubbed “toilet to tap” by critics, would cost too much. The price tag – $210 million by the city's estimate – would translate into a fraction of ratepayers' current water and sewer bills.
Homeowners and businesses could pay even less because the city's financial analysis didn't account for possible grants from federal, state and regional agencies. Those entities have identified tens of millions of dollars for future water-related projects in the
Officials at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said they probably would help fund a reservoir augmentation program for
Most of Southern California, including
The economics differ for every region, but two advantages for
“
In December, the San Diego City Council voted to override Sanders' veto against a pilot project that would recycle wastewater using reservoir augmentation. It was the first time the council successfully reversed a veto by Sanders on a major issue.
The council wants to start a demonstration plant for reservoir augmentation by this summer. It could be a race against time because coast to coast, a growing number of water districts are competing for money to establish water-recycling operations.
“I can name dozens” of utilities that are exploring how to recycle wastewater, said Mark Millan, a public relations consultant in Northern California who works with water agencies.
In the Bay Area, a consortium of agencies is asking Congress for nearly $36 million to help pay for several water-reuse projects.
But even after accounting for a major sale last year, the two facilities recycle water at about one-quarter of their capacity. The under-production has prompted everyone from business leaders to environmentalists to debate how to increase the plants' use.
A 2006 study commissioned by
The study's authors said that arrangement would cost the most money up front but “appears to be the appropriate choice if the driving decision factors are to maximize recycled water use and have the lowest” per-gallon cost.
The San Vicente strategy would cost homeowners about $1.85 per month, or roughly 2 percent of the combined water and sewer bill for the typical household in
Several interest groups – including politicians, business leaders and engineers – support reservoir augmentation.
Sanders remains steadfast in his opposition. During an interview in late December, he restated his dislike of the San Vicente proposal but said he has directed his staff to work on the council's pilot project. The first report from the staff is expected this month.
The mayor said he didn't know where the money would come from for a demonstration plant, let alone a major facility.
“This has not been one of my priorities,” Sanders said.
He prefers using more recycled water for irrigation and industry, among other options, and said
In
“Pretty much 80 percent of the . . . early days were spent on securing funds,” said project manager Shivaji Deshmukh of the Orange County Water District.
The payoff was handsome: More than $90 million in construction grants, plus about $3.8 million a year for 23 years to help run the facility.
Despite the help, the water and sewer agencies of
Officials from the county's sanitation district had been saving up for a new ocean outfall to discharge wastewater. By spending that money on the water recycling project instead, they were able to avoid costly upgrades.
The county's water district financed most of its debt for the project through the state's revolving loan program. It got a break there, too, tapping what Deshmukh said was the equivalent of a 1.8 percent interest rate for 25 years.
He said water rates for the typical homeowner in the district would rise about $1 per month in coming years, partly to pay for the new purification system.
State and federal agencies still offer financial incentives to boost water recycling.
In addition, Proposition 84 is expected to make at least $91 million available for water-related projects in the
Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation also extend financial aid. Since 1995, the bureau has issued about $84 million in grants to help pay for water reuse in the
Bureau of Reclamation officials said Congress has authorized spending an additional $88 million for similar efforts in the region. The agency pays up to 25 percent of a qualifying project's construction costs – as long as Congress appropriates enough money.
“If we received an application for funding for any part of the (reservoir augmentation) project from the city of
The Metropolitan Water District also helps pay for water recycling programs in
The district already funds some of
“We're quite anxious to work with them in any way to help them get that yield up,” Sienkiewich said. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080101-9999-1n1orange.html
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