Recycling water, what’s SRCSD’s Program all about?
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History
Water recycling has been used within California since 1929 when the city of Pomona first pioneered its use. Since that time, water recycling has grown throughout the state and today, there are over 250 water recycling plants in operation with many more projects in development. All of these water recycling efforts are in keeping with the state-legislated goal that 1 million acre-feet of water per year be recycled by 2010.
Starting in the late 1980s, drought, land-use conditions and the potential for greater discharge requirements lead SRCSD to begin investigating water recycling.
In the 1990s, SRCSD moved toward implementation of its Water Recycling Program by helping to orchestrate the installation of purple pipe in the Laguna West development in Elk Grove. To supply this neighborhood with recycled water, SRCSD started constructing a 5 million gallons per day (MGD) water recycling plant in 1999. The water recycling plant, located alongside the existing Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (SRWTP) in Elk Grove, began recycling treated wastewater in April 2003. To commemorate the new operation, an open house was held at the SRWTP on May 19, 2003.
Currently, up to 3 MGD of recycled water from the plant are used to irrigate parks, school sites, and landscaped medians in the Laguna West, Lakeside, and Stonelakes (Phase I) developments in the Elk Grove/Laguna area — more than 40 connections. Additionally, recycled water is used for landscape irrigation and other non-potable water uses throughout the SRWTP. Plans also are in the works to use recycled water in the East Franklin and Laguna Ridge developments (Phase II).
Our current recycled water customers are located in Elk Grove/Laguna area. Some of our customers include:
In 2004, the SRCSD Board of Directors approved a goal of expanding the Water Recycling Program to 30-40 MGD in the Sacramento region by 2020.
In February 2007, SRCSD completed a Water Recycling Opportunities Study (WROS) that identifies potential water recycling opportunities within its service area. The WROS is the culmination of two years of planning and outreach efforts. It provides a roadmap outlining and sequencing major steps for short and long-term implementation strategies to reach the goal of producing 30-40 MGD of recycled water by the year 2020.
Treatment
At the SRWTP, wastewater is collected and treated through primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. Primary treatment removes larger waste particles through sedimentation. Secondary treatment uses bacteria to remove smaller waste and organic particles. The final two steps in creating recycled water are tertiary treatment and disinfection provided at the water recycling plant. Tertiary treatment provides filtering of extremely small particles which is followed by chlorination of the recycled water to provide disinfection.
Membrane Filtration Pilot Tests
In 2005, SRCSD conducted a membrane pilot testing program at the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (SRWTP). The purpose of this program was to determine the best and most cost-effective technology for achieving the expanded tertiary treatment capacity of the Water Reclamation Facility. Four membrane pilot units were continuously operated from May to November. The membranes tested were the following: (1) Ionics X-flow (pressurized, inside-outside system); (2) US Filter - Memcor CMF-S (submerged vacuum, outside-in system); (3) Pall Microza (pressurized, outside-in system); and (4) Zenon -ZW 1000 (submerged vacuum, outside-in system).
Health & Safety
In 1969, the California Department of Health Services, with the state’s nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards, set quality and usage standards for recycled water to ensure recycled water is safely used. The set of laws, known as the California Code of Regulations Title 22, are updated frequently and regulate recycled water practices such as:
- Maintaining separate purple pipes to ensure recycled water pipes do not accidentally cross connect with drinking water pipes
- Permitting requirements for cross connection testing
- Ensuring regular safety compliance inspection of recycled water systems
Locally, the County of Sacramento Environmental Management Department oversees the Water Recycling Program to ensure health and safety compliance with Title 22 regulations.
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“As the department tasked with protection of public health and the environment in Sacramento County, we view recycled water as a safe, alternative water supply source and support its responsible use.”
Cecilia Jensen, Chief, Water Protection Division, County of Sacramento Environmental Management Department
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Get details about the quality of our recycled water (PDF-28K)
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