Orange County recycled water experiment starts ...

Excerpt from the Seattle Times:

Sewage becomes drinking water at Calif. facility

11 January 2008

As a hedge against water shortages and population growth, Orange County, Calif., has begun operating the world's largest, most modern reclamation plant — a facility that can turn 70 million gallons of treated sewage into drinking water every day.

The new purification system at the Orange County Water District headquarters cost about $490 million and comprises a labyrinth of pipes, filters, holding tanks and pumps across 20 acres.

Almost four years after construction began, the facility is purifying effluent from a neighboring sewage-treatment plant run by the Orange County Sanitation District, a partner in the venture.

The finished product will be injected into the county's vast groundwater basin to combat saltwater intrusion and supplement drinking-water supplies for 2.3 million people in coastal, central and northern Orange County.

But before that can be done, state health officials must certify that the reclaimed water meets drinking-water standards. Officials expect the approval to be granted before opening ceremonies Jan. 25.

"Our sources from [the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta] and the Colorado River are becoming unavailable," said Michael Markus, general manager of the water district. "This will help drought-proof the region and give us a locally controlled source of water."

Last month, for example, a federal judge ordered a 30 percent reduction in freshwater pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the tiny delta smelt, a threatened species. The region, which is facing myriad environmental problems, is the hub of California's water system.

If the reclamation plant's full potential is realized, officials say, up to 130 million gallons a day could be added to the county's freshwater supply, lessening the region's dependence on outside sources.
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