VALENCIA, CA — The Valencia Water Co., which supplies water to approximately 94,000 people in the Santa Clarita Valley, unveiled its new pre-softening system on November 18, and some officials are saying the days of residential salt-based water softeners in that community are over, according to a December 1 article in The Signal.

The system, dubbed the Groundwater Softening Demonstration Project (GWSDP), currently offers pre-softened water to residents of one community, Copperhill. The goal of the one-year project is to demonstrate that this pre-softening reduces the levels of salt in wastewater.

The system relies on a pellet softening process that uses a column filled with sand. The article says that by raising the pH of hard water and flowing it up through the column, the calcium carbonate precipitates out and adheres to the sand, creating white pellets. According to the Valencia Water Co., the pellets are considered environmentally safe and are the only byproduct of the process.

The project recently was demonstrated for local officials and others. Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar was quoted in the article as saying, “The days of salt-based water softening systems in homes is over. It’s time we became more sensitive to the environment.”

For several years, county sanitation districts here that discharge into the Santa Clara River have been under pressure from the regional water quality control board to reduce chloride discharges from wastewater treatment plants. On November 4, Santa Clarita Valley residents approved a referendum requiring the removal of all salt-regenerated water residential water softeners, as WaterTech Online™ reported. The ban takes effect January 1.

According to the Valencia Water Co., one of the reasons Copperhill was selected for the pilot program is the fact that the community was built during the short period automatic water softeners were allowed to be installed in the Santa Clarita Valley. Automatic water softeners discharge chloride into the waste stream and ultimately into the Santa Clara River.

Copperhill residents have been asked to turn off their water softeners.

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For information on the GWSDP, click here.

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