Water use restrictions are usually the first sign of severe drought conditions in California, but a new recycled water treatment facility in Escondido set to go online early next year could help offset those restrictions for the local farming communities.
What’s unique about the new plant is that when drought conditions develop, local farmers with avocado and citrus groves won’t have to cut back on their water use.
Water that goes through the new Membrane Filtration Reverse Osmosis Facility (MFRO) in Escondido is essentially being repurposed, according to Escondido Utilities Director Angela Morrow. Morrow said MFRO will create a drought-tolerant supply for farmers so that they still have water for their crops during what can be the most trying times in a growing season.
”So with this, if there is another drought, this would enable those farmers and those growers to keep watering with this recycled water,” Morrow said.
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The water's journey starts at the city’s wastewater treatment plant on the west side of town, where water that would typically filter out into the ocean instead gets recycled and treated again before coming to the MFRO.
“What this facility does is takes a portion of that recycled water and treats it even further," Morrow said. "So it uses membrane technology and reverse osmosis, it reduces the chlorides, and what that does is lowers the salinity so that agricultural users can irrigate their plants with it so it doesn’t or affect the plant."
The facility isn’t like others that create potable water that goes back into the drinking supply, according to Morrow. Instead, she calls this the interim.
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“This is a little bit different, where we’re not taking that next step of disinfection, but we are further treating that recycled water so we can use it for our customers," Morrow said. "We can give it directly to agriculture users."
Morrow said the water can be supplied at an affordable rate for the agriculture community.
On Wednesday, the design and build of this new facility was celebrated by local and state leaders like Dorene D’Adamo with the State Water Resources Control Board.
“Projects like this are a key strategy for the future,” D’Adamo said.
It's a future that, D’Adamo said, will have more frequent and longer-lasting droughts and reduce water supply as a result of climate change.
“So really what we want to see: Keep that water, treat it, and reuse it locally," D'Adamon said. "So this is really a win for the environment, it’s a win for water supply, it’s a win for the economy."
D’Adamo said the board provided $45 million for this project for low-interest loans and grants in addition to other funding sources from the Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Water Resources.
