Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 21, 2008
4. Water Quality –
Plan would convert waste water
Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
From toilet to basin to tap.
That is how one water agency intends to make to the
The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District this month approved a $300,000 consulting contract with MWH, an engineering company, which will review plans for a treatment plant that turns waste water into drinking water and stores it in the
The facility would be similar to an Orange County Water District groundwater replenishment plant that opened in January.
"This would take waste water generated in the
"This will help us provide a high quality, local water supply to replace our lost imported water," said Peter Rodriguez, spokesman for the water district.
The plant could cost up to $70 million, but officials said the expense is reasonable considering that a stable water supply for
The ongoing drought, climate change and the decline in the imported water from Northern California because of environmental restraints has forced water officials in
"I would support any project that helps secure water for our region," said Assemblyman Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina.
"We have been doing water reuse since the '60s," said Ray Avila, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sanitation District. "When you live in a arid environment like we do, reusing and recharging water like we do is a very important thing."
But turning waste water into drinking water would be relatively new in
The city of
The proposed site in the
The project would include six miles of pipeline to deliver the purified water to the groundwater spreading grounds near the Santa Fe Dam.
Experts said the water will be at a fixed price and the plant would reduce energy consumption and carbon emission.
"Although it is more expensive today than imported water, it is a fixed price and will be the same throughout the life," said Ray Tremblay, director at the Los Angeles County Sanitation District. "Versus imported water, which will likely only get more and more expensive."
But there are also downsides.
Among them is the cost to finance the project, as well as getting public support behind technology that experts in the 1990s said was unsafe.
"We don't think there are any safety concerns from the human health perspective," Tremblay said. "But there will always be some public concern about public outreach."
Forest Tennant, a former
Today, he fully supports the project.
"There were a number of reasons to oppose it at the time," Tennant said. "But things have changed quite a bit since then. Contaminants in the basin are in the process of being cleaned, and the technology is excellent."
In
Residents did not believe that drinking waste water was safe, even though the water-purification process "is one of the most advanced purification processes in the world," said Mehul Patel, process engineer at the Orange County Water District.
The Orange County plant takes waste water treated at the sanitation district, and runs it through a three-step treatment process that involves micro-filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light.
After the water is treated, it is shipped to the basin for at least six months. Then, it receives additional treatment, and finally becomes drinking water.
"This was not just an engineering feat, but a public-relations feat as well," DePinto said. "It was quite a challenge convincing the public that the water is safe to drink."#
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_9936952
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