Supervisors OK Land Easement For East County Recycled Water Project

SAN DIEGO, CA — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 Wednesday to vacate a small parcel of land as part of an East County recycled water project.

The quarter-acre piece of land sits on a 10.47-acre undeveloped parcel west of El Monte Road and north of Lake Jennings Park Road, along Laurel Canyon Road, in the Lakeside Community Planning Area.

In June 2022, officials broke ground on the $950 million facility, called the East County Advanced Water Purification Project, which is overseen by the county, Padre Dam Municipal Water District and the city of El Cajon.

According to the county, easement approval was needed to continue pipeline construction for the plant.

In a CBS8 report from last year, proponents said the program "will create a new, local, sustainable and drought-proof drinking water supply using new technology to purify East San Diego County's recycled water."

Once completed in 2026, the facility will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day, representing 30% of drinking water demands for East County residents, officials said.

The program will use four advanced purification steps to produce water "that is near-distilled in quality," which will then be blended with water in Lake Jennings. Finally, water will be treated at the R.M. Levy plant before it's available for public consumption.

The county is home to one recycled water facility in Oceanside, with a second one set to provide over 40% of San Diego's city water supply by 2035, CBS8 reported.

Board Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer was absent from Wednesday's meeting.

— City News Service