December 18 , 2007
Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System Begins Operating
A new, massive $480 million indirect potable reuse system began operating in Orange County, CA on December 15, according to the Orange County Register. Called the Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) System, it will produce about 70 million gallons of drinking water per day. The system uses a combination of reverse osmosis, hydrogen peroxide, and ultraviolet light to turn treated wastewater into highly purified drinking quality water. The water is then piped into settling ponds where it seeps into the county’s deep aquifer and becomes part of the drinking water supply. Some of the water from the GWR System will also be pumped into seawater intrusion barriers that prevent seawater from seeping into the aquifer.
Orange County Officials Focus on Educating the Public
In an effort to win support for their new Groundwater Replenishment System, Orange County, CA water managers have spent $300,000 over five years to educate minority groups about the project, the Orange County Register reported. Local studies showed that the indirect potable reuse project was less appealing to minority groups. As a result, the system’s managers spent about 10% of their $3 million community outreach budget to target the county’s sizable Hispanic and Asian populations.
Virginia Adopts New Water Reuse Regulations
The Virginia State Water Resources Control Board unanimously approved new water reuse regulations at its December 5 meeting, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “This has the potential to remove a lot of wastewater from the streams of Virginia and apply it to beneficial uses,” board Chairman Shelton Miles told the Times-Dispatch. The approved uses include landscape irrigation, crop irrigation, dust control, livestock watering, industrial cooling, firefighting, and flushing toilets in businesses. Treatment requirements will vary based on the intended use. A few recycled water projects are already in operation in Virginia.
San Diego City Council Overturns Mayor’s Veto of Indirect Potable Reuse Project
The San Diego City Council overturned a veto by Mayor Jerry Sanders to fund a study of using recycled water to augment drinking water reservoirs during a December 4 meeting, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. The Mayor vetoed the initiative on November 14, but the City Council was able to overcome the veto by a 5-3 vote. The City Council is asking city staff to conduct an economic and energy analysis of mixing purified recycled water in the San Vincente Reservoir, where it would be later treated further and delivered through taps. The city estimates that the pilot project will cost $10 to $15 million.
U.S. Forest Service Appeals Court’s Decision to Ban Snowmaking
The U.S. Forest Service argued that it has the right to permit snowmaking with reclaimed water on its own land during a December 11 hearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. The Arizona Snowbowl, which is a 777-acre resort in the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, sits on land that is owned by the U.S. Forest Service. A three judge panel of the court ruled in March that using reclaimed water to make snow at the Arizona Snowbowl resort would violate the religious freedom of Indian tribes who consider the mountains sacred. The full 11-judge appellate court decided to rehear the case at the request of the resort and the federal government who argued that the earlier decision incorrectly applied the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and broke precedent. The court did not immediately rule in the case.
Desalination Plant in Carlsbad, CA Approved by Coastal Commission
The California Coastal Commission approved a proposal to build what would become the country’s largest desalination plant during a November 15 meeting, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The $300 million, 100 million gallons per day plant, which is being developed by a private company called Poseidon Resources, has been the subject of controversy in the water-starved region due to environmental concerns. The commission imposed about 20 conditions on the coastal development permit. Poseidon must develop a plan to compensate for the deaths of marine organisms, do wetlands habitat restoration, and spend about $5 million over 30 years on environmental projects to offset greenhouse gas emissions from the plant.
Miami-Dade Uses Reclaimed Water Projects to Secure More Water
With a commitment from Miami-Dade County to build about $1.9 billion in alternative water supply projects, the South Florida Water Management District approved a 20-year permit in November that would eventually allow Miami-Dade to draw 76 million more gallons of water each day from the aquifer, according to the South Florida Business Journal. In exchange for the new water rights, Miami-Dade will eventually reuse up to 170 million gallons of water a day to irrigate golf courses, restore coastal wetlands, cool industrial reactor towers, and recharge drinking water well fields. The permit for increased water withdrawals incorporates deadlines for the new projects
New Pilot Desalination Plant Planned for Los Angeles Area
The West Basin Municipal Water District, which serves southwest Los Angeles County, recently announced plans to build a second demonstration desalination plant, according to the Daily Breeze. West Basin’s Board of Directors approved a five year lease agreement in November that would allow them to build and operate a desalination facility at the Los Angeles Conservation Corps’ SEA Lab in Redondo Beach. The proposed plant, which must be approved by regulatory agencies, would desalt 500,000 gallons of water per day. West Basin already operates a 40,000 gallons per day demonstration plant in El Segundo that it hopes to turn in to a full scale facility.
Florida Community Plans Reclaimed Water ASR Project
A Florida community expects approval of a permit this month that will allow them to inject reclaimed water into an underground aquifer for storage, according to Florida Today. The $2.2 million Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project in Rockledge, FL would inject up to 1.2 million gallons of reclaimed water each day 510 feet underground into the Floridan Aquifer, which is the primary source of drinking water for the community. The reclaimed water would be kept separate with a series of buffers that includes a steel casing followed by PVC casing down to about 400 feet. The last 100 feet would be dirt, clay, and limestone. Florida regulators have promoted ASR projects as an effective way to store water at times when it is plentiful for use later. The St. Johns River Water Management District, which is the regional regulatory agency, approved the project last year and provided a grant of nearly $1 million for it.
Recycled Water Creates Habitat for Southern California Shorebirds
Recycled water that has been discharged to the Los Angeles River due to a lack of pipes to transport it to parks and golf courses has created an oceanside sanctuary for thousands of shorebirds, according to the Los Angeles Times. The river’s lower reaches have become a popular destination for migratory and shorebirds that once frequented coastal marshes that have largely been paved over by a sprawling city. With Southern California facing a severe drought, bird experts call the concrete L.A. River Channel one of the most important stopovers sites for migrating birds. “It’s high quality water. We could use some more customers,” Hiddo Neto, a recycled water plant manager, told the Times.
Arizona Town Sells Effluent to Highest Bidder
The Town of Prescott Valley, AZ sold 2,724 acre-feet of effluent for more than $67 million during an innovative two-day auction on October 29-30, according to a news release. The town awarded the effluent to the highest bidder—Water Property Investors LLC, a New York-based water resource-investment firm—for $24,650 per acre-foot. Water Property Investors can resell or use the water to meet state water supply requirements for new subdivision developments. The auction attracted both local and national bidders.
Florida County Poised to Borrow $75 Million to Deliver Reclaimed Water to New Power Plant
Water utility officials in West Palm Beach County, FL have preliminary approval to borrow $75 million to install new purple pipe that would carry 22 million gallons of reclaimed water a day to a new power plant now under construction, according to the Palm Beach Post. The reclaimed water would be used to cool generators in the county’s first new power plant since 1963. Although the water utility plans to borrow the money, the loan would be repaid by Florida Power & Light under the agreement.
Tempe Considers Reclaimed Water for Man-Made Lake
Water manager in Tempe, AZ have developed a plan to fill a man-made, recreational lake with reclaimed water, the East Valley Tribune reported. Tempe Town Lake is currently filled with groundwater or Colorado River water and has some water quality problems. Water utility officials say the reclaimed water will be much cleaner than the water that is currently pumped into the lake. The city allows swimming at the lake only for special events, such as triathlons. It could take up to two years for the city to install a $10.7 million, five mile pipeline needed to deliver reclaimed water to the lake. The project also needs to be approved by state environmental officials.
Desalination Plant under Construction in Massachusetts
The Town of Swansea, MA recently broke ground on a brackish water desalination plant that will help the community solve its water shortage problems, according to the Providence Journal. The town will pull four million gallons of water a day from the Palmer River at low tide and return the salty concentrate at high tide when the river is naturally much saltier. “This is the first municipal cold water desalination plant in the country – whether the East Coast or the West Coast,” said David Edson of Prism Environment, Inc., according to the article.
Recycled Water Used to Fight California Wildfires
The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District’s recycled water proved to be an important resource in fighting devastating wildfires that broke out in southern California this fall, according to a news release. As air tankers from as far a way as Canada scooped water from Lake Elsinore to fight the wildfires, Elsinore Valley’s water reclamation plant continued to work day and night to replenish the lake with nearly five million gallons of recycled water a day. Lake Elsinore was the only body of water in the region large enough to accommodate the massive fire-fighting aircraft that arrived from Canada to fight the Poomacha Fire on Palomar Mountain, south of Temecula.
Okun Remembered for Pioneering Work in Water Engineering
University of North Carolina (UNC) Professor Daniel A. Okundied Monday, December 10, 2007 at age 90. Okun, who is remembered for his pioneering work in water engineering, was also an honorary lifetime member of the WateReuse Association. During his career, Okun worked in 89 countries and consulted with municipal and legislative planning committees throughout the United States. Among Professor Okun's many contributions, he helped design a water treatment plant in Bangkok, Thailand; established a graduate program in sanitary engineering in Lima, Peru; and studied water supply and pollution control in China for the World Bank. At home in Chapel Hill, he led the campaign to build Cane Creek Dam and Reservoir in the 1980s to ensure the most pristine water source possible for Chapel Hill and the UNC campus. For more information about Professor Okun, click here.
Desalination Expert Honored as 2007 Trendsetter
A leading seawater desalination expert was named one of Public Works magazines 2007 trendsetters. Poseidon Resources’ Corporate Technical Director Nikolay Voutchkov was honored for creating a co-located desalination system that uses existing infrastructure and cooling water from a nearby power plant to dramatically reduce costs and environmental impacts associated with producing fresh drinking water from seawater. He also led the development of a novel method to determine salinity tolerance of marine organisms to desalinated plant discharges which allows plant design and discharge configuration to be tailored to the site specific conditions of the marine ecosystem in the area of the discharge.
Registration Open for 2008 California Section Conference in Newport Beach
Registration is open for the WateReuse Association’s 2008 California Section Annual Conference to be held March 24–26, 2008 at the Marriott Newport Beach Hotel & Spa in Newport Beach, CA. The conference is designed for individuals, organizations, and agencies that are associated with the design, management, operation, and use of water recycling and desalination facilities and projects.
Association Accepting Abstracts for the 23rd Annual WateReuse Symposium
The WateReuse Association is accepting abstracts for the 23rd Annual WateReuse Symposium – the world’s preeminent conference devoted to water reuse and desalination. The Symposium will be held September 7-10, 2008 at the Hilton Anatole in the heart of Dallas, Texas. The theme is "Water Reuse & Desalination: Solutions as Big as Texas."