Recycled Water

Rates

Recycled Water

SARI

Wastewater
Treatment Plants

WRCRWA

Wastewater Services

Western Water Recycling Facility

These photographs illustrate the scope of ongoing construction at the Western Water Recycling Facility. The $45 million dollar project will expand its treatment capacity from 1 to 3 MGD and upgrade its processing capability to produce high-quality tertiary-treated recycled water for irrigation use. Western's project partners are the Riverside design engineering firm of Krieger & Stewart, Incorporated, and Skanska USA Civil West California District Inc., the project's general contractor. Project completion is expected in mid-summer 2010.

Recycled Water Benefits

Reduces dependence on imported water
Using recycled water for irrigation purposes instead of imported potable drinking water will help offset the region’s demand for water.
Represents new source of irrigation water
Tertiary-treated recycled water can be used for all nonpotable applications:
- Urban Landscape – Parks and playgrounds, schoolyards, unrestricted access golf courses, residential landscaping, freeway and roadway landscaping, cemeteries, ornamental nurseries, sod farms.
- Agriculture – Food crops for human consumption, orchards, vineyards, fodder, fiber and seed crops, non-fruit bearing trees, pasture for milking animals, water supply for livestock.
- Impoundments – Restricted and unrestricted (full-body contact) recreational impoundments, decorative lakes and fountains, fish hatcheries.
- Industrial – Industrial processes (e.g., paper manufacturing, carpet and textile dyeing, boiler feed), cooling towers and air conditioning, non-residential toilet, urinal and floor drains, structural and non-structural fire fighting, commercial laundries, commercial car washes, concrete mixing, construction (dust control, soil compaction, backfill consolidation around pipelines, including potable), street and sidewalk cleaning, flushing sanitary sewers, snow making.
Expands Western’s water portfolio
The costs of potable drinking water supplies continue to climb, making recycled water more efficient as an alternative water supply.
Testing ensures water safety
Testing is routinely performed at the treatment plant, with regulatory oversight, to make sure treatment is functioning properly so that the recycled water delivered to the property meets regulatory requirements. Western will also perform regular inspections of the sites that use recycled water.

A Site Supervisor is mandated to be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the recycled water system on the use site. Training will be required for both the Site Supervisor and other workers that may contact recycled water so they understand the requirements for proper use and control of recycled water.
A “drought proof” source
The amount of recycled water available is generally not affected by drought, meaning participating customers don’t risk losing landscaping because of water shortages and potential mandatory rationing.

Periods of Operation for Recycled Water Sites

Operation of the user’s on-site recycled water system must adhere to the following requirements.

Irrigation may only occur during periods of least use of the approved area by the general public. This is usually between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.; however, areas where public access is generally prohibited or minimized, such as commercial nurseries and freeway landscaping, may be irrigated at any time.
Irrigation of public areas during other times may be performed if the irrigation system is operated manually and is supervised to avoid inadvertently exposing any members of the general public. This provision must be strictly followed.
Consideration should be given to allow a reasonable dry-out time before the area is to be used by the public.
Automatic control systems are to be used and programmed to prevent ponding and runoff of recycled water. Weather-based control systems are recommended.
The recycled water system must not be allowed to operate for periods longer than needed to satisfy the landscape water requirements. Recycled water must never be applied at a rate that is greater than the infiltration rate of the soil. Exceptions to this requirement for purposes such as leaching of soil must be specified in the User Agreement.