San Jose
– The first phase of a $28-million project to boost use of
recycled water in South County is set to begin in May.
Tuesday, the South County Regional Wastewater Authority and
Santa Clara Valley Water District approved a $6.8 bid to construct
a new treatment facility adjacent to SCRWA’s plant east of U.S.
Highway 101.
San Jose – The first phase of a $28-million project to boost use of recycled water in South County is set to begin in May.
Tuesday, the South County Regional Wastewater Authority and Santa Clara Valley Water District approved a $6.8 bid to construct a new treatment facility adjacent to SCRWA’s plant east of U.S. Highway 101.
In May, SCRWA will begin work on a reservoir, pump station and additional pipes, the first phase of a 10-year project that will dramatically boost its capacity to filter and supply reclaimed waste water.
Capacity will double by the summer of 2006, and by 2020 water officials hope that recycling will account for at least 10 percent of all the water used in Santa Clara County.
“This really improves overall reliability and gives us a backbone for future recycled water development and management,” said Tracy Hemmeter, senior project manager for the water district.
For now, though, budget constraints have put future stages of the project on hold.
Hemmeter said that the district’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year doesn’t include appropriations for the so-called short and long-term stages of the project, which include additional pumping facilities and miles of pipeline.
The district and SCRWA will go forward with environmental reviews for the entire project.
Reclaimed water is not drinkable. During the recycling process, it is screened and oxidized, then chlorinated and dechlorinated. The process leaves it with trace amounts of ammonia and nitrates.
It is sufficiently clean for other uses, including watering most crops. Major users include Obata Farms, Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Christmas Hill Park and the Calpine-Gilroy Energy Center.
Gilroy High School, Bonfante Gardens, the proposed Gilroy Sports Park and developments along Hecker Pass, and a number of municipal customers in Morgan Hill, among others, may use recycled water in the future.
