A Fairy Tale Ending At A Pump Station

By Glenn Dorsch, PE, VP/Chief Engineer, Vaughan Co. Inc.

The Otay River Pump Station (ORPS) was upgraded in 2003, to feed effluent to the City of San Diego’s newly constructed South Bay Water Reclamation Plant. The South Bay WRP provides reclaimed water for industrial and agricultural customers in the South Bay area of San Diego.

All sewage pumping stations are important, but ORPS is unusually important since it provides the majority of the influent for the South Bay Water Reclamation Plant, via the Grove Avenue Pump Station. Without the flow volume from ORPS, the South Bay WRP would have to shut down, and because San Diego is a semi-arid desert region and imports 80% of its potable water, the reclaimed water is a valuable resource.