SANTEE, CA, Sept. 5, 2014 -- On Wednesday, Sept. 3, the board of directors for Padre Dam Municipal Water District, serving East San Diego County, Calif., approved a $1.5-million contract for Integrated Water Services to construct a new Advanced Water Purification (AWP) Demonstration Project that will provide a potential new source of water to the region that is safe, reliable, locally-controlled, drought-proof, and environmentally sound.
The contract, funded through a $3-million state grant, includes the construction and installation of a pilot demonstration plant that will use AWP technologies. The 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.
The Demonstration Project will produce water for one year and will not impact water rates. Construction work will begin in the fall of 2014 and is scheduled to be completed by February 2015. At completion of construction, the demonstration treatment facility operations will begin and run at least 12 months. During this time, the Demonstration Project will produce approximately 100,000 gallons per day (GPD) of advanced treated water for demonstration and testing purposes.
If the Padre Dam's Demonstration Project is deemed successful and the AWP project moves forward, the water treatment process would continue with additional steps and be similar to the successful Groundwater Replenishment System in Orange County (see "Orange County's GWRS Exemplifies Power of Collaboration"). 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treatment, the water would be injected into the Santee groundwater basin where it would be naturally filtered and then withdrawn and treated again prior to distribution as drinking water.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 3 million gallons per day (MGD) of water or enough to serve approximately 5,500 households and businesses in the Padre Dam's service area each year.
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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 our treated water supply and treat 2 MGD of wastewater at our Water Recycling Facility. For more information, visit www.padredam.org.
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