North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition Responds to San Diego County Grand Jury Report

ENCINITAS, CA — The North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition issued a response Tuesday to the San Diego County Grand Jury’s May 31 report that commended the coalition for its voluntary collaboration in helping solve San Diego County's drinking water supply problems with its regional recycled water project.

The 10 agencies of the North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition — Carlsbad Municipal Water District, City of Escondido, Leucadia Wastewater District, City of Oceanside, Olivenhain Municipal Water District, Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, San Elijo Joint Powers Authority, Santa Fe Irrigation District, Vallecitos Water District, and Vista Irrigation District — began collaboration in 2010 to more cost-effectively reduce potable water use at a regional level through water recycling and reuse.

The Grand Jury — made up of 19 citizens tasked with investigating the operations of governmental programs of the county, cities and special districts to ensure that the best interests of San Diego County citizens are being served — investigated water supply issues in the county and, in the process, learned of the coalition.

While the Grand Jury called the coalition an "exemplary model of sharing to capture economies of scale while providing a reliable, drought-proof source of water for the region, and reducing wastewater discharges to the ocean," it also had some recommendations for the group.

Here is the Grand Jury's summary of its facts, findings and recommendations:

The North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition is just that – a group of North County water and wastewater agencies collaborating to optimize reuse of wastewater. They are replacing individual, separate recycled water systems (purple pipe) with interagency connections to increase the capacity and maximize the use of recycled water. To accomplish this, Coalition members will increase 2035 tertiary treatment capacity by 44.2 million gallons per day (MGD) and build 72 miles of new pipelines. The Coalition plans to adopt a “designer water” concept – treating wastewater to meet the quality needed by specific end users. They also are adding storage to smooth seasonal demand curves for recycled water. Finally, member agencies plan to produce 13 MGD of drinking water (potable reuse).
This is a green project that will reduce wastewater discharges to the Pacific Ocean and offset water imports, thus avoiding the energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with imported water. The project also could add 7,000 jobs over its 20-year life. The 2015/2016 San Diego County Grand Jury commends the Coalition for its voluntary collaboration in helping solve San Diego County’s drinking water supply problems.
The Grand Jury recommends that the Coalition reach out to other North County water agencies and invite them to join, and that the Coalition give more consideration to largescale rainwater capture. The Grand Jury also recommends the Coalition work with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to reduce that agency’s use of tap water for irrigation along the State Route 78 corridor.

The Grand Jury explains its recommendations:

For the purposes of securing grant funds and regulatory approvals, the NSDWRC plan is limited to the agencies and projects described in their Program Environmental Impact Report. When possible, the Coalition should invite additional agencies to join. There are adjacent North County agencies that are not members, including the Fallbrook Public Utility District, Valley Center MWD, Rainbow MWD, and the City of Poway. Interconnections among them and NSDWRC members could further improve efficiencies and economies of scale.
The Coalition did not analyze rainwater as a supply source. The Grand Jury believes that future project planning should evaluate the potential for large-scale rainwater capture. Most water agencies offer rebates for rain barrels to capture runoff from building roofs.
On a larger scale, where there are groundwater basins, traditional pavement can be replaced with permeable asphalt or concrete to promote groundwater recharge. In addition, storm water and other urban runoff can be harvested by redirecting the flows into the sewer system (known as a combined sewer system). While combined sewers can lead to treatment plant overflow during large storms, storage facilities and advanced Real Time Decision Support Systems (similar in concept to adaptive traffic control systems) can prevent or mitigate the problem.
The California Department of Transportation uses tap water for irrigation along the SR 78 corridor between Oceanside and Escondido. The Coalition does not list Caltrans among their potential future recycled water customers. Coalition sales of recycled water to Caltrans could reduce the use of tap water for irrigation.

The coalition was required by state law to respond to the Grand Jury’s report within 90 days. In its response, the coalition acknowledged the importance of expanding the use of recycled water, pledged to work with neighboring agencies to expand the coalition, and reinforced its intent to work with the California Department of Transportation to increase the use of recycled water along the State Route 78 corridor.

In a news release Tuesday, the coalition said it developed a Regional Recycled Water Facilities Plan in 2011, and many individual construction elements of the project have already begun. Upon completion of all long-term project elements, the coalition said, its Regional Recycled Water Project will add nearly 32 million gallons per day of recycled water and potable reuse water to North County's water supply portfolio, offsetting the annual water demand of over 70,000 households. To date, the coalition has received $5 million in California Department of Water Resources grant funding.

To read the full Grand Jury report, click here.

For more information about the North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition, click here.