Water Reuse Festival A Success

Community celebrated and learned about the future of East County’s water

More than 400 people visited the East County Water Festival in Santee, California to celebrate water and learn about the East County Advanced Water Purification Program that will create a new drought proof drinking water supply using state-of-the-art technology to purify East San Diego County’s recycled water.

Padre Dam Municipal Water District hosted the free, water-themed event that included tours of the East County Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility so guests could see how recycled water is purified into drinking water. Attendees sampled iced coffee made from purified recycled water, planted a succulent, squeezed dirty water through membrane filters, played a water origami game and enjoyed face-painting and shaved ice.

The East County Advanced Water Purification Project is a regional partnership with Padre Dam, Helix Water District, City of El Cajon and the County of San Diego. The Project will treat recycled wastewater to create 100,000 gallons of purified water each day and could ultimately produce up to 30 percent of the drinking water for residents in the Padre Dam Municipal and Helix Water Districts service areas.

Padre Dam provides water, sewer, recycled water and recreation services to approximately 100,000 residents in East San Diego County, California including Santee, El Cajon, Lakeside, Flinn Springs, Harbison Canyon, Blossom Valley, Alpine, Dehesa and Crest. The District currently imports 100% of its drinking water supply and treats two million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater at its Water Recycling Facility. For more information, visit www.padredam.org.