News | April 10, 2015

Grand Opening Of Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility

Padre Dam Embarks on Demonstration Project to Bring A New Drought Proof Water Source to East County

Padre Dam Municipal Water District celebrated the grand opening of its Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility and tour program today. The demonstration facility will use advanced water purification technologies to purify and test approximately 100,000 gallons of recycled water each day. Residents who would like to view the advanced water purification process first-hand can schedule a tour of the facility at http://www.padredam.org/244/Advanced-Water-Purification-Tours.

“California’s severe drought brings into focus the importance of Padre Dam’s efforts to develop a local water supply with our Advanced Water Purification Project. The Grand Opening of our demonstration facility could not have come at a more appropriate time - on the heels of the lowest recorded snowpack in California’s history,” said Allen Carlisle, CEO and General Manager of Padre Dam. “The full scale Advanced Water Purification Project has the potential to provide a reliable, drought-proof water source that is up to 20 percent of Padre Dam’s current drinking water supply.

During the Demonstration Project, Padre Dam’s Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility will take recycled water through four advanced water treatment steps - free chlorine disinfection, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation (ultra violet light and hydrogen peroxide). At this time, the demonstration facility will produce approximately 100,000 gallons of purified water each day. The water will be vigorously tested to ensure it meets the high quality water standards of the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water’s stringent public health objectives.

If the demonstration facility is deemed successful and the project moves forward, the water would be injected into the Santee groundwater basin, withdrawn and treated again prior to distribution as drinking water.

Additionally, Padre Dam is working with Helix Water District, the City of El Cajon and the County of San Diego to study the feasibility of developing an expanded East County Advanced Water Purification Program. The study will focus on the possibility of expanding Padre Dam’s proposed Advanced Water Purification Project to accommodate and treat wastewater from the other agencies’ service areas in order to provide a new drought proof water supply. This expanded program could produce up to 10 million gallons of water per day.

For more information on the Advanced Water Purification Project and all of Padre Dams’ projects and programs, please see www.padredam.org or www.padredam.org/AWP. To schedule a tour of the Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility, http://www.padredam.org/244/Advanced-Water-Purification-Tours.

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 $243M and has an annual budget of $53M. The District imports 100% of our treated water supply and treat two million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater at our Water Recycling Facility. For more information, visit www.padredam.org.

Source: Padre Dam