Desalination is hogging the drought-solutions spotlight, causing programs like Pure Water San Diego to fly under the radar. The idea behind the Pure Water program is to recycle sewage into potable water using advanced scientific methods. Before you get too grossed out, you should know that after treatment, the water is cleaner than most current tap water. A pilot program at the North City Reclamation Plant ran for four years, and they have verified through thousands of tests that the water meets or exceeds the government’s water quality standards.
The 20-year program was unanimously approved by the City Council in November 2014. By 2035, it is expected to provide about a third of San Diego’s water, reducing reliance on imported water.
Construction of the project – two additions to existing treatment facilities and one new facility – is expected to cost as much as $3.5 billion. The program will be paid for through a combination of federal and state grants, as well as a temporary 1%-3% hike on water bills during the construction period. But in the long run it will save citizens money by reducing the amount of imported water, and preventing the city from needing to make costly upgrades to the Point Loma Water Treatment plant. While recycled water is currently more expensive to produce than imported water, it is expected this will change as the drought continues. As a bonus, the program also means less raw sewage pumped into the ocean…yup, San Diego still does that.
It’s rare that a program comes along that garners support across the board from politicians, environmentalists, and tax payers. Pure Water is a no-brainer. Yet the city thinks there will be backlash from the public about drinking purified wastewater, a fear that has already led them to spend $1 million on education and outreach. Let’s show them they don’t need to spend another cent on raising public support.
Like the Pure Water page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PureWaterSD
Follow Pure Water on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PureWaterSD
Sign up for a free tour of the demo site: http://www.sandiego.gov/water/purewater/demo/
Use #PureWaterSD to share info about the program.
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Chuck says
Contrast these findings to those for bottled water and you will be astounded. Those convenient plastic bottles have two major negatives: They’re taking water from California and the quality requirements are less stringent than those for tap water. “Evian – naïve spelled backward.”