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Bruce Presser
Principal, CEO/CFO
The Covello Group
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On April 1st
the California Department of Water Resources conducted their snowpack survey
which determined we are only at 32 percent of average. This was no April Fool’s
joke; only providing more evidence that California is in the midst of its worst
multi-year drought since the mid-70’s.
Studies have shown that California has had extended drought periods
throughout history; water has always been a concern to those living here. Now couple that with the numerous demands on
the current water supply; urban, industry and agriculture and geographical
splits; North versus South. It becomes
clear why not one single idea works in solving the State’s water woes.
Water is the
life blood of the State’s economy and if water agencies are struggling to meet
current demands how are they expected to meet the future demand when
California’s population is expected to increase by 15.4 million by the year
2064; a 41 percent increase? The
traditional approach of creating storage and conservation isn’t sufficient to
meet our water needs; plus there’s no room to put a brick in our low flow
toilets. We must look to other sources
to augment our supplies. One such reliable
and locally available water source that can be made available in a relatively
short time is “Recycled Water”.
What is Recycled
water? Quite simply it is the practice
of using water more than once rather than just sending it out to the river or
ocean. Several agencies throughout the state for
years have been treating their wastewater and distributing it for non-potable use;
such as, watering golf courses, cooling water for oil refineries, and
re-charging aquifers (for saltwater barriers or indirect use). Now is the perfect time to increase the volume
of water produced and expand the ways in which we use it.
My first
professional experience with recycled water was in 1998 when our firm was
retained by the Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) to manage the
construction of their “Clean Water
Revival” project. Following the path forged by pioneering agencies in Orange
County, the District was building a new advanced treatment facility using the
latest technology; micro-filtration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO) treatment and
ultra-violet disinfection (UV) to produce a product that exceeded potable water
standards. The District planned on taking this new water source and injecting
it deep into the local aquifer where it would spend the next nine (9) years migrating
through the groundwater aquifer before finding its way back into the local
water supply. Unfortunately a few vocal
critics labeled the project “Toilet to Tap” which ultimately forced the District
to change their plan and use the water to supplement local urban irrigation
instead of bolstering ground water supplies. The citizens of the state have been slow to
adopt Recycled Water as a true source of water. Perceptions are improving and there is hope
that the recent move to consolidate the drinking water program under the State
Water Board will help.
The Governor
is behind the effort to promote the wider use of recycled water by signing
Senate Bill 322 in 2013 which requires the State to investigate the feasibility
of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse by
September 2016. So what is holding the
agencies back from building the facilities?
Recent
surveys of the wastewater and water utilities have shown that the largest
impediment to recycled water projects is funding. There are currently 44 projects that are
permitted and “shovel ready” that could produce 220,000 acre-feet of new water. Unfortunately those agencies don’t have all the
funding needed to build their projects. Like
the public perception about recycled water, acceptance to fund these projects
is changing too. In March the State
Water Board approved $800 million that will be used to fund recycled projects for
agencies who submit applications by December 2015. This is a good start but unfortunately only a
‘drop in the bucket’ for what is really needed.
More money is needed to fund future projects to expand this water supply
source. The State and its citizens can
no longer afford to ignore this reliable and locally available water supply.
For more information on California's water crisis, read ACEC California's latest issues of Engineering and Surveying Business Review at the link below. You will find articles about the severe drought that continues to impact the entire state and ACEC California members offer potential solutions to our state's water woes.
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