Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 7 2008
4. Water Quality –
Yucaipa welcomes water treatment facility
Riverside Press Enterprise- 8/7/08
Contoured stone walls, wrought-iron fencing, landscaping and a stylish "Clear Creek" sign mark the entry to the $44 million, 30-acre complex.
Those aren't the only unique features of the filtration plant that has been two decades in the making, Joe Zoba, general manager for Yucca Valley Water District, said during a dedication ceremony Wednesday.
From left, Bob Wall, water superintendent; Matt Harward, deputy manager of water resources; and James Vickers, from Separation Processes Inc., tour the Yucaipa Valley Regional Water Filtration Facility before Wednesday's dedication ceremony.
Some of its filters are similar to those used in patients' intravenous lines in hospitals, Zoba said.
"The plant is one of the few of its type in the nation or world that uses a double membrane system -- microfiltration and nanofiltration," said James Vickers, an engineer for Separation Processes Inc.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, representatives from Gov. Schwarzenegger's office and many local dignitaries toured a maze of colored pipelines to get a sense of the scope of the filtration system that produces 12 million gallons of water a day.
Its two reservoirs hold 10 million gallons, Zoba said.
Yucaipa has long relied on groundwater pumped from wells and chlorinated to meet its drinking-water needs, said Tom Shalhoub, a longtime water district board member.
But with the district's population expected to jump from 50,000 to nearly 95,000 by 2030, the Yucaipa Valley Water District had to turn to the state's surface-water supply.
The filtration plant removes organic matter from surface water and saves precious groundwater, officials said.
"Our water in the ground is beginning to stabilize and maybe even rise," Shalhoub said.
Less than 1 percent of the water -- 30,000 to 50,000 gallons -- is wasted in a day, district officials said. And because the plant can be monitored from several remote locations, it can operate with fewer workers.
Such features have drawn water officials from across the country for tours, said Bob Wall, water superintendent.
The plant was built so that it can be expanded by 50 percent and arranged to produce as much as 36 million gallons per day, said Matt Harward, deputy manager of water resources for the 63-employee district.
Yucaipa Mayor Dick Riddell said residents have told him the quality of water produced at the plant is as good or better than groundwater drawn from dozens of city wells.
"I've lived here for many, many years, and I can't tell the difference," Riddell said. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_N_nyucaipa07.4ac9300.html
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