April 7, 2015 -- After more than five months under construction, the Padre Dam Municipal Water District of California is celebrating the grand opening of its new Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Project (AWPDP) this week.
The District will host the project's launch on Friday, April 10, at 10:30 a.m., at its site on 9390 N. Fanita Parkway in the city of Santee, Calif. VIP tours will also be offered immediately following the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
AWPDP broke ground in October 2014 in light of the state's ongoing drought and the continuous rise of imported water costs (see "CA district breaks ground on advanced water purification demonstration project"). The program was designed with the intent to provide East County will a new source of potable water.
Funded through a $3-million Proposition-50 grant from the Department of Water Resources, the project will use four advanced water purification technologies -- free chlorine disinfection, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet/advanced oxidation -- to provide water that is safe, reliable, locally-controlled, and drought-proof.
AWPDP is expected to last approximately three years and will operate for at least one year. During this time, it will produce approximately 100,000 gallons of purified water per day, which will be tested daily to ensure that it meets the public health objectives for California Health Department approval.
If the demonstration project is deemed successful and moves forward, it would have the potential to provide up to 3 million gallons of water per day, or up to 2,000 to 3,000 acre-feet of water per year, to Padre Dam customers -- approximately 15 percent of the District's current drinking water demands.
Interested participants of Padre Dam's AWPDP grand opening can RSVP here by Tuesday, April 7.
See also:
"CA advanced water treatment project to explore new source of water"
"Padre Dam to study feasibility of Advanced Water Purification Program expansion"
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 percent of its treated water supply and treats 2 MGD of wastewater at its Water Recycling Facility. For more information, visit www.padredam.org.
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