Reclamation Celebrates Two Water Reuse Project Milestones

On October 11, 2012, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor, Lower Colorado Regional Director Terry Fulp, and Southern California Area Office (SCAO) Manager Bill Steele celebrated accomplishments with partners at dedication ceremonies for two innovative water reuse facilities in southern California.

Chino Valley Desalter

At the Chino Valley Desalter in Jurupa Valley that morning, a grant-signing event commemorated contributions of $51 million from the California Department of Public Health and $5.6 million from Reclamation that will help a local coalition of water agencies expand the Chino Desalter. When it is completed, the project will provide an additional local water supply to the Inland Empire, and foster economic growth and enhance the quality of life for those who live, work and play in the region.

“As we all know, this period of drought has been hard on about every part of our country,” said Commissioner Connor to the 80 partners and media representative attending the event. “And while we hope for relief, we are also being proactive in projects such as this one. This brackish groundwater reclamation project is pumping and treating groundwater that is otherwise unusable, resulting in a new potable water supply for the area."

The $130 million Chino Desalter Expansion will pump and treat brackish groundwater to produce an additional 10,600 acre-feet of potable water each year, enough to supply water for over 20,000 households.

“This project is a great example of how we can bring our collective talents and resources to bear on finding solutions to keep the water flowing and our economy growing,” Commissioner Connor added.

The water will replace supplies that would otherwise be imported from the Colorado River and the California Bay-Delta. The project also protects water quality in the Santa Ana River by intercepting and treating impaired groundwater before it reaches the river, and creates jobs in an area hit especially hard by recent economic conditions.

Oxnard Advanced Water Treatment (AWT) Plant

That afternoon, Regional Director Fulp and Area Manager Steele joined in the dedication of the Oxnard Advanced Water Treatment Plant. The event celebrated the completion of Phase 1 of the project funded with $20 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

During the dedication, the project was described as being ‘shovel-ready’ when ARRA was passed in 2009, and was the only project within Reclamation's Southern California Area Office boundaries to be authorized and receive 100 percent of the funding all in the same year.

“I am proud to represent the Bureau of Reclamation and join with the officials from the City Of Oxnard to dedicate this Plant,” said Fulp. “The 6.25 million gallons of recycled water produced by this project every day will replace more expensive imported water and is a great example of how we can collaborate to create a sustainable source of water for irrigation and the green spaces so important in our communities.”

The Oxnard AWT project is part of the area’s Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment (GREAT) Program, a long-range water supply strategy to combine local wastewater recycling, groundwater injection, and groundwater desalination to make more efficient use of existing water supplies and meet projected water needs through 2020.

Additionally, the Reclamation delegation toured the Turner Basin Recharge Project, which will increase current basin capacity through more efficient capture and recharge of local rainfall runoff and recycled water that is currently not recoverable. The project is expected to conserve 520 acre-feet of water per year.

Webmaster: sha-lcr-webcomments@usbr.gov
Updated: October 25, 2012