San Diego Eyes $3.5B Recycled Water Project

[jakeXT]

San Diego is joining other California cities that are taking a closer look at recycling wastewater for drinking as the state suffers from severe drought.

The San Diego City Council will consider a $3.5 billion water recycling project that would produce 83 million gallons of recycled water a day by 2035. That’s an estimated one-third of the city's water supply.

Environmental groups like San Diego Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter are backing the project, calling it a "drought-proof water source."

The plant will take wastewater and turn it into drinking water. It's a multi-step cleaning process that backers of the plan say actually meets or exceeds quality standards of the water San Diegans drink now.



Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/politics/San-Diego-Eyes-Recycled-Water-Project-in-Drought-Conditions-283058261.html

[Control-Z]

1. Orange County, Ca

recycles water. At one time, in the recent past, we were the only county in the country with such a water program. I don't know if that is the case any longer.

The thing is, I never hear about our program and how our water supply stands up to other drought stricken counties. I tried to find statistics on the Google machine a year or so ago. Nothing.

[jakeXT]

2. It's in the media again and they are upgrading their facility from 70 to 100 million gallons

But business is booming in California's Orange County Water District (OCWD), through a pioneering wastewater treatment facility that recycles used water -- or sewage -- and returns it to the drinking supply. The plant is expanding production from 70 to 100 million gallons per day, enough for 850,000 people, around one-third of the county population. As the OWCD output is mixed with the main groundwater supply it reaches over 70% of residents.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/01/world/from-toilet-to-tap-water/

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/california-s-drought-fix-toilet-to-tap-water-KWvbRWh1QiaX8FsEvDrpCw.html

[Control-Z]

3. Excellent article!

But..this:

"In Orange County and other facilities, mixing the output with groundwater is a largely unnecessary, confidence-building measure to allay public fears. But as awareness improves, operators hope to move from indirect to direct potable reuse, which would bring down energy use and costs, while avoiding the counter-intuitive step of re-contaminating purified water."

Yeah, I really, really, like the re-contaminated aspect of our drinking water. Makes me feel better to imagine the natural filtration adding the minerals and dirt I expect in my water. Lol.

Do you live in OC? Seriously, my biggest complaint is the odor near any of our water facilities. They smell just like a sewer would, I imagine.

Thanks for the link!

[jakeXT]

4. No, but I watched the Bloomberg tv report from this week /nt