Waste Water: Orange County’s pioneering wastewater recycling system embarks on major expansion – Orange County Register
EXCERPT:
The program runs treated wastewater through an
additional cleansing process that includes microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light. The result is water that’s purer than imports or storm water. The process removes virtually all contaminants, including any trace of PFAS carcinogens.
The water is then used to replenish the groundwater aquifer, where it’s stored until the Orange County Water District’s 19 member retailers pump it to residential and business customers.
The Orange County Water District supplies water to the north and central parts of the county, accounting for about 2.5 million of the county’s 3.2 million residents. The 103,000 acre feet of water currently produced annually by the recycling project accounts for about 25% of the district’s total water supply, with imported water providing another 25%.
The expansion will increase annual production of the recycled water to 134,000 acre feet and use all of the sanitation district’s reclaimable water, which would otherwise be pumped into the ocean. One acre foot is enough water for about two households of four annually, according to the water district.
Sarmiento reminded attendees at Friday’s ceremony that the concept of making wastewater potable wasn’t even a pipe dream in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, that idea is increasingly being implemented. Just a few miles up the 405 Freeway in Carson, a pilot project was launched in October that could eventually result in a recycled water project producing 150,000 acre feet a year.
Imported water costs Orange County agencies about $1,100 an acre foot while groundwater suffused with purified wastewater costs them $587 including pumping costs, according to John Kennedy, Orange County Water District’s executive director of engineering and water resources.
The $310 million Groundwater Replenishment System expansion will be funded with $135 million in low-interest federal loans and $167 million in low-interest state loans with the balance paid for by grants.
Orange County’s pioneering wastewater recycling system embarks on major expansion
Orange County’s wastewater recycling program, a pioneering idea that’s already touted as the largest of its type in the world, is about to get bigger.
Big enough, in fact, to serve the tap water needs of about 1 million residents, according to the Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District. Dubbed the Groundwater Replenishment System, the project produces water that is half the price of imported water, and is virtually immune to both drought and reductions in imports.
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Jerry Vilander, general manager at Serrano Water District, walks among reverse osmosis filters before the start of an expansion groundbreaking ceremony at the Orange County Water District in Fountain Valley, CA, on Friday, Nov 8, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The water and sanitation districts, partners in the 11-year-old project, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Friday to celebrate its expansion. The Fountain Valley event drew about 250 local, state and federal officials, consultants and employees. Actual construction is scheduled to begin next week and be completed in early 2023.
“It’s probably one of the most innovative water systems in the world,” Vicente Sarmiento, chairman of the water district board, told attendees over the whine of the system’s machinery.
The program runs treated wastewater through an additional cleansing process that includes microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light. The result is water that’s purer than imports or storm water. The process removes virtually all contaminants, including any trace of PFAS carcinogens.
The water is then used to replenish the groundwater aquifer, where it’s stored until the Orange County Water District’s 19 member retailers pump it to residential and business customers.
The Orange County Water District supplies water to the north and central parts of the county, accounting for about 2.5 million of the county’s 3.2 million residents. The 103,000 acre feet of water currently produced annually by the recycling project accounts for about 25% of the district’s total water supply, with imported water providing another 25%.
The expansion will increase annual production of the recycled water to 134,000 acre feet and use all of the sanitation district’s reclaimable water, which would otherwise be pumped into the ocean. One acre foot is enough water for about two households of four annually, according to the water district.
Sarmiento reminded attendees at Friday’s ceremony that the concept of making wastewater potable wasn’t even a pipe dream in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, that idea is increasingly being implemented. Just a few miles up the 405 Freeway in Carson, a pilot project was launched in October that could eventually result in a recycled water project producing 150,000 acre feet a year.
Imported water costs Orange County agencies about $1,100 an acre foot while groundwater suffused with purified wastewater costs them $587 including pumping costs, according to John Kennedy, Orange County Water District’s executive director of engineering and water resources.
The $310 million Groundwater Replenishment System expansion will be funded with $135 million in low-interest federal loans and $167 million in low-interest state loans with the balance paid for by grants.
As part of Friday’s ceremony, Sarmiento invited the officials on stage to a toast with glasses of the purified wastewater.
“The tradition is that we have to finish every last drop,” he told them.
