SANTEE, CA, June 4, 2014 -- California's Padre Dam Municipal Water District's Board of Directors has recently approved a $160,464 contract with Brown and Caldwell to design a new Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Project in East San Diego County. The contract, funded through a $3-million state grant, includes the plan, design, installation, and operation of a pilot demonstration plant that will use advanced water treatment (AWT) technologies to provide a potential new source of water that would be safe, reliable, locally controlled, drought-proof and environmentally sound.
The Demonstration Project will take Padre Dam's recycled water through four advanced water treatment steps -- free chlorine disinfection, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis (RO) and ultraviolet (UV)/advanced oxidation. The water produced will be tested daily to ensure it meets the public health objectives for the California Public Health Department and will not be used in the drinking water system.
Accordingly, the Demonstration Project will last approximately three years and will not impact water rates. Work began in the fall of 2013 and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2016. This timeline includes at least 12-months of demonstration treatment facility operations. During this time, the Demonstration Project will produce approximately 100,000 gallons of AWT water per day for demonstration and testing purposes.
If the Padre Dam's Demonstration Project is deemed successful and the Advanced Water Purification Project moves forward, the water treatment process would continue with additional steps and be similar to the successful Groundwater Replenishment System in Orange County. After treatment, the water would be injected into the Santee groundwater basin where it would be naturally filtered and then withdrawn and treated again prior to distribution as drinking water. The project would have the potential to distribute up to three million gallons of water per day, or enough to serve approximately 5,500 households and businesses in the Padre Dam's service area each year.
See also:
"CA water district improves customer service, billing with new CIS system"
"Water district activates solar energy system"
About Padre Dam
Padre Dam provides water, sewer, recycled water and recreation services to approximately 100,000 residents in East San Diego County including Santee, El Cajon, Lakeside, Flinn Springs, Harbison Canyon, Blossom Valley, Alpine, Dehesa, and Crest. The District is a public agency with policies and procedures directed by an elected five-member Board of Directors. Padre Dam's infrastructure is worth $243 million and has an annual budget of $53 million. The District imports 100% of its treated water supply and treats two million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater at its Water Recycling Facility. For more information, visit www.padredam.org.
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