WaterCalifornia exploring water purification, imports, and conservation as water situation worsens

California officials are calling on residents better to manage their water usage as the state enters its fourth consecutive year of drought. The officials acknowledge that a heavy rainfall alone will not be sufficient to restore the groundwater the state needs, so water districts are investing in water recycling plants and exploring strategies ranging from importing water to encouraging greater conservation.

Recently, water districts have challenged their residents to reduce their water usage by 40 percent, which is twice the amount Governor Jerry Brown last July asked Californians to meet.

“Last spring I decided to remove all grass from my yard and planted California natives,” said Carol Makdissy, who was named a Water Saving Hero for the work she has done on her 650-square-foot yard in San Jose. “These beautiful flowers do not just attract butterflies and hummingbirds, they need only a little water.”

New America Media reports that designating residents as Water Saving Heroes is one of the strategies being pursued by the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) to promote water conservation for homes, businesses, landscaping, and agriculture.

“We have a finite supply of local water from reservoirs (Shasta and Oroville) and imported sources that come from Sacramento and the San Joaquin River Delta,” explained Aaron Baker, raw water operations manager at SCVWD. “Because we’ve had three excessive dry years and little snow, our reservoirs and groundwater levels have dropped. It is highly likely that we will get to summer (facing) a critical stage that will require up to 40 percent in water use reduction,” Baker added.

In 2014 Californians did not achieve the voluntary 20 percent cut in water usage, so some counties are looking to fine those who waste water. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this year to fine any of the nearly 87,000 residents of unincorporated parts of the county — who have less access to water than city dwellers — $100 to $500 if they use sprinklers between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., water driveways or sidewalks, or wash cars without a shut-off valve. To track down who is wasting water, the SCVWD Board of Directors “approved funding to hire temporary water waste inspectors,” said spokesperson Marty Grimes. The district has received 1,000 alerts since last summer.

Still, water conservation can only go so far. According to New America Media, an average American uses 100 gallons of water each day, yet reservoirs in California only have enough water to supply that level of consumption until the end of 2015. Jeffrey Mount, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), has called for the state to diversity water supplies and build infrastructure to trade water with other states.

The state’s agriculture sector lost $2.2 billion in revenue during 2014, according to research by PPIC. The industry is now looking at purifying water through a combination of microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and UV light disinfection.

The Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center (SVAWPC) which opened in July 2014 recycles nearly eight million gallons of water per day in Santa Clara County, used for irrigation and industrial applications. “The plant is the biggest one in Northern California, and costs $72 million and seven years to build,” noted water supply planning modeler Miguel Silva. “Recycling water is drought tolerant. We can produce a consistent amount regardless if it’s a wet or a dry year, so it gives us a lot of control to face extreme weather patterns,” he added.

The water from SVAWPC is not yet drinkable, but the plant aims to offer drinking water to the region by 2025.