Reclaimed Water:
An Answer to San
Diego’s Call for a
Consistent Source
of Water

By Tom Ewing
Branch Manager Miramar
Wholesale Nurseries,
San Diego, CA

San Diegans are no strangers to the idea of water being a precious resource. Anyone who was here during the droughts of the 1980’s surely remembers water-rationing measures that were involuntarily imposed on residents and businesses alike. Although the situation has significantly improved, water is a valuable resource that we must make an effort to preserve.

San Diego county imports nearly 90 percent of its water through the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which manage water coming from the Colorado River and the State Water Project. Even at an estimated 450,000 acre-feet per year, this has not been enough to meet growing population demands. To ensure a consistent water supply well into the future, the City of San Diego has identified water saving alternatives, such as reclaimed water, which will help meet future needs.

Reclaimed water is essentially water that is treated and used again. There are very specific rules and regulations governing how that water must be treated and how it can be used. Water that is used for irrigation purposes, the largest use for reclaimed water in the City of San Diego, then undergoes a demineralization process to remove excess salts and mineral, making it suitable for use on plant material. All reclaimed water is carefully monitored by local health and water authorities and is approved for nearly all uses except drinking.

The City of San Diego is currently working with approximately 250 companies and properties in San Diego, most of which are in close proximity to the water pipeline, to retrofit their properties and educate them about the benefits and uses of reclaimed water. For a limited time, the City will reimburse customers for the construction costs associated with retrofitting their property. Once a customer is on-line, reclaimed water will cost 10% less than potable water. And because customers are reusing the water instead of disposing of it, they will notice significant savings in sewer expenses.

Miramar Wholesale Nurseries is one of an initial group of companies and properties identified by the City of San Diego Water Department as candidates for this program. Like many businesses, water is crucial to our survival and we use a lot of it. Our decision to install a reclaimed water pipeline was largely based on our desire to do our part to help conserve water in San Diego. We are excited to be leaders in the reclaimed water movement.

Additionally, the nursery sees reclaimed water as an ‘insurance policy’ in the event of a drought. Should we ever face the prospect of mandated cutbacks, as we did in 1992, we hope to fall back on our reclaimed water supply.

As part of the extensive retrofit of the 200-acre facility’s irrigation system, a 21,000 gallon blending tank was installed which allows the nursery to store enough water for two days’ irrigation. The tank will also be used to blend reclaimed water with potable water for irrigation of ornamental plants that have specific watering requirements. The nursery expects to be on-line in fall of 1999.

Pennant Village, a homeowners association in University City, is one of the only HOA’s to implement this program. It has been on-line since mid-1998 and has already noticed significant savings. In less than a year, it realized over a 15% decrease in water costs, a savings that Alice Sonniksen anticipates will increase even further in the next year. “The difference is really significant ... So far we have not had anything but minor problems that had to do with water pressure and coverage, and those were able to be corrected very easily.”

“Once implementation of the City’s entire reclaimed water system is complete, we project that close to 10 percent of San Diego’s water supply will come from reclaimed water sources,” says Hossein Juybari, Reclaimed Water Coordinator at the City Water Department. “Reclaimed water is an integral part of the City’s strategic plan for our future water supply. Reclaimed water is not only cost-effective, but it provides an insurance policy against the possibility of cutbacks during a drought. This is essential to many businesses.”

While no one can guarantee that we won’t face a water shortage in San Diego, programs such as reclaimed water are a tremendous step in preparation. Should a drought occur, many companies and properties throughout San Diego County have made significant progress toward increasing their odds of having a consistent, locally controlled source in the future, while doing their part to conserve water today.