Irvine Ranch Water District
http://www.irwd.com/liquid-news/news-releases/archive/building-on-our-water-recycling-legacy.html
Building on the IRWD Water Recycling Legacy
Published Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500
Recycled Water Accounts for One-Fifth of our Total Water Supply
When the IRWD service area was mostly comprised of agricultural customers in 1963, the Board of Directors recognized the importance of recycled water for future water supply reliability. As a result, IRWD water services were expanded to include wastewater collection and treatment for the purpose of producing recycled water.
“Since then, IRWD has remained a national leader in recycled water,” said Board Member Doug Reinhart. “In fact, the purple pipe used nationwide for the distribution of recycled water originated at IRWD.”
Our dependence on costly imported water is reduced when alternative sources are found, which helps IRWD maintain some of the lowest water rates in Orange County. The IRWD recycling program has grown to include almost 5,000 recycled water connections. More than 400 miles of recycled water pipeline supplies recycled water to approximately 45 commercial buildings. A state-of-the-art expansion of the Michelson Water Recycling Plant will increase recycled water production from 18 million gallons per day to 28 million gallons per day, a 55 percentage gain. Construction is expected to be completed at the end of summer 2012.
“IRWD seeks opportunities to increase the use of recycled water to the greatest extent practicable,” said Mark Tettemer, IRWD recycled water development manager. “While irrigation represents the majority of the use of recycled water, IRWD is pursuing projects to diversify the types of uses consistent with state regulations. This includes other approved uses such as toilet flushing, air conditioning cooling towers and other industrial applications.”
All recycled water produced at IRWD facilities meets, or exceeds the stringent water quality requirements established by the California Department of Health. The high quality of the District’s recycled water earned us the first unrestricted use permit in California, allowing IRWD to become the first agency in the state to use recycled water for toilet flushing inside commercial buildings.
It takes about 16 to 18 hours to produce recycled water at the Michelson Water Recycling Plant. Recycled water is primarily used for landscape and agricultural irrigation, such as parks, school grounds, golf courses and freeway landscaping. The water used for your morning shower could be irrigating a ball field by the same evening.
IRWD continues to be a leader in recycled water innovation. Engineers estimate that when our service area reaches final build out in approximately 2025, a recycled water capacity of 33 million gallon per day will be required to meet demand.
Please visit our website for more information about IRWD recycled water use.
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