[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 7/8/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

July 8, 2008

 

2. Supply –

 

 

 

Reclaiming our water

The Pasadena Star- 7/7/08

 

IT'S going to come as a shock to many San Gabriel Valley and Whittier-area folks the day water rationing is instituted. But the prolonged drought, higher temperatures due to global warming and a judge's decision to divert less water from Northern California are making that day - though still in the future - inevitable.

 

While conservation is the best option, it only goes so far. Yes, residents should use less water inside the home, but irrigation outside the home (if farming is removed from the equation) is where most of the urban water goes and most of the waste occurs.

 

That's why businesses, government, schools as well as private residents must cut back on irrigation of all those roadway medians, freeway off- and on-ramps, school ball fields, parklands, grounds, cemeteries and private lawns if we are going to reduce water use - big picture.

 

Institutional uses are a great place to point the divining rod of water conservation. And most importantly, using less water in irrigation should become a permanent best practice, not a one-time cutback that results in a gold star one year and a return to water-wasting practices the next.

 

Working to institutionalize water savings on irrigation is the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District. Last month, as reported by Staff Writer Jennifer McLain on Monday, the Valley's largest water agency broke ground on the third phase of its $45 million water recycling project. The district is partnering with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which treats sewage water to near drinking water standards. Already it has built separate pipelines to transport recycled water from the Sanitation Districts' San Jose Treatment Plant (at the 60 and 605 freeways) to irrigate Rose Hills Memorial Park, Rio Hondo College, Mills Elementary School (all in Whittier) as well as Whittier Narrows Recreation Area (in South El Monte). Now, under the $9 million third phase of the project, the Upper District is piping recycled water longer distances through Rosemead to Norman's Nursery, four different schools, a golf course and Zapopan Park.

 

Soon, phase four of the project will take the recycled water into West Covina, where it will be used to irrigate ball fields and grounds at the new Big League Dreams and at other developments on the former BKK Corp. landfill.

 

Some have called this "new water," in that it is not from the usual three sources: Northern California, the Colorado River, local wells. By substituting "new water," it frees up that much potable water for non-irrigation uses. The Upper District estimates when fully operational, the project will save 5 billion gallons of drinking water per year. We can foresee using "new water" to battle forest fires and to manufacture products.

 

Institutionalizing the use of "new water" takes time, money and investment. We're glad to see our region is doing just that. This will ease the sting of prolonged droughts that result in a reduction of potable water deliveries. It also costs less to use recycled water that essentially gets piped to the ocean otherwise.

 

While residents can do more to use less, they can't be expected to do it alone. Industry and government can help by investing in recycled water systems for irrigation.#

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_9811699