Pure Water Oceanside is on the map to be the first operating advanced water purification project in San Diego County
Oceanside CA— The City of Oceanside broke ground, Wednesday, on Pure Water Oceanside, a project that will purify recycled water to create a new local source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof, and environmentally sound. Scheduled to be completed before the end of 2021, Pure Water Oceanside will be the first operating advanced water purification facility in San Diego County.
The $67 million project will source recycled water from the City’s San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility at 3950 North River Rd. Advanced technology will be used to replicate and accelerate the natural recycling process to provide 3 to 5 million gallons per day, or more than 32% of the City of Oceanside’s water supply.
“Today, we put Pure Water Oceanside on the map and are one step closer to achieving the goal of greater water-independence for our city, residents, and businesses,” said Cari Dale, Water Utilities Director, City of Oceanside. “This future-focused project will provide multiple benefits by reusing our water resources to their full potential.”
Pure Water Oceanside will address a variety of challenges currently faced by the City. Today, Oceanside imports most of its water from the Sacramento Bay Delta and the Colorado River, which are hundreds of miles away. This imported water is subject to rising costs out of the City’s control, requires an enormous amount of energy to transport, and is vulnerable to natural disasters and earthquakes. Pure Water Oceanside will address these challenges by diversifying the City’s water supply and reducing its reliance on imported water by over 30%.
According to information distributed by the City of Oceanside, advanced water purification technology has been used for decades throughout the world and as close as Orange County. Orange County Water District operates the world’s largest advanced water purification system, serving nearly 850,000 people each day. In fact, Disneyland receives purified water from this project. Many other water agencies in San Diego County and the entire state are moving toward advanced water purification, including the City of San Diego and Padre Dam Municipal Water District in East San Diego County and the City of Monterey. Public health requirements are set by the State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water (State Board) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
Purifying wastewater is about one-third the cost of ocean desalination because there are far fewer dissolved solids (salts) to remove from wastewater. Removing a high concentration of salts requires three times more energy, additional membranes and results in a shorter membrane life span resulting in increased maintenance costs.
“This is a real step forward in water recycling and innovation,” said U.S. Representative Mike Levin (D-CA). “We need to pursue new and innovative solutions to protect our land and water for future generations. Pure Water Oceanside is a great example of just that type of project, just that type of solution for our district and our region.”
“The City of Oceanside is proud to be a leader in sustainability, with our dedicated team spearheading multiple programs that protect and conserve natural resources,” said Dale. “Pure Water Oceanside marks the next big step for our City and a larger movement for the region as a whole to create sustainable water supplies in San Diego County. The project will safeguard against drought, reduce our dependence on increasingly expensive imported water, provide an environmentally friendly alternative to transporting water, and create an exceptionally pure drinking water supply.”
You can learn more about Pure Water Oceanside by visiting the City’s website and scheduling a behind-the-scenes tour at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility.
For more information, visit www.PureWaterOceanside.org.