Water Reliability Coalition names City of Oceanside, Calif. ‘Agency of the Year’

Oceanside, Calif. — The City of Oceanside was honored for its leadership in Aquifer Augmentation and Indirect Potable Reuse and was awarded “2016 Agency of the Year” by the Water Reliability Coalition (WRC). The award was delivered at the WRC annual Spring Reception on Thursday, April 20, 2017, in San Diego.

Matt O’Malley, executive director of San Diego Coast Keeper delivered the award saying, “We are excited to see North County San Diego opening up its doors to potable reuse and aquifer augmentation with the City of Oceanside completing its Feasibility Study and Pathogen Removal Study last year.”

The city’s Aquifer Augmentation (Indirect Potable Reuse) Project is currently in preliminary design and undergoing permitting, environmental documentation and construction of exploratory borings.

“This recognition underscores the City of Oceanside’s dedication and diligence as we work to implement the Council’s vision to achieve a 50 percent local water supply by 2030,” said Cari Dale, Water Utilities Director for the City of Oceanside, who accepted the award on behalf of the city.

“The City of Oceanside imports 87 percent of our water, and basin levels are decreasing,” continued Dale. “The Aquifer Augmentation and Indirect Potable Reuse project will achieve many benefits once completed, including increasing our local water supplies by increasing groundwater basin levels, decreasing the need for imported water and improving overall groundwater basin quality.”

The city plans to reuse a total of 6 million gallons per day (MGD) of highly purified water through this project. The advanced water treatment methods for this program will consist of microfiltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light and advanced oxidation.

Near-term construction will enable 3,360 acre-feet per year to be injected via three wells into the Mission Basin aquifer. An acre-foot of water is generally the amount a family of four uses in a year.

Complimentary projects include construction of Title 22 recycled water treatment, which includes 3 MGD of water to be operational by the summer of 2018 and 3 MGD of low TDS recycled water designated for agricultural uses in the Morro Hills area in Oceanside.

Project partners include RMC/Woodard & Curran and Trussell Technologies, who were also applauded at the Water Reliability Coalition event.