SANTEE, Calif. — Padre Dam Municipal Water District celebrated the grand opening of the district’s Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility and tour program, according to a press release.
The facility will use advanced water purification technologies to test and purify around 100,000 gallons of recycled water per day, stated the release.
Residents who are interested in viewing the purification process firsthand can schedule a tour of the demonstration facility by visiting the district’s website, continued the release.
The facility will take recycled water through four advanced water treatment steps during the demonstration project, including: Free chlorine disinfection, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation (ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide), reported the release.
If the demonstration facility is successful and the project moves forward, the water from the facility will be injected into the Santee groundwater basin, then withdrawn and treated again before being distributed as drinking water, noted the release.
“California’s severe drought brings into focus the importance of Padre Dam’s efforts to develop a local water supply with our Advanced Water Purification Project,” said Padre Dam CEO and General Manager Allen Carlisle. “The grand opening of our demonstration facility could not have come at a more appropriate time — on the heels of the lowest recorded snowpack in California’s history. The full-scale Advanced Water Purification Project has the potential to provide a reliable, drought-proof water source that is up to 20 percent of Padre Dam’s current drinking water supply.”
Read the entire release here.