Turning wastewater into pure water is no dream for the next century. It works now and is one of the ways California is meeting the demands for more water for a growing population. Some 191 new water reuse projects have been constructed since 1993, bringing to 200 the total number of recycling projects in the State. And according to the latest update of the State Water Plan, prepared by the Department of Water Resources, total water recycling, estimated now at 485,000 acre-feet a year, will increase to 1 million acre-feet for all uses by 2020.

A Growing Interest in Recycling
For more than 20 years, State government, primarily DWR and the State Water Resources Control Board, has helped to foster water recycling projects by its administration of State bond and grant programs, by providing technical assistance to water districts, and by supporting the formation of a statewide water recycling association. Through its recycling coordination efforts in the Water Conservation Office and Division of Planning and Local Assistance, DWR has supported water reuse projects as one of the many tools of water management that can lead to optimal use and more efficiency.

Statewide water planning, a major responsibility of DWR, has reflected the growing interest in the possibilities of recycling. In the 1993 State Water Plan Update, recycling was listed as one of the means to develop local and regional groundwater management programs.

"Recycling can be most effective and provide a readily available source of new supply," says Susan Tatayon, water recycling program coordinator for the Department of Water Resources.

She notes that State planning has recognized the growing interest in reusing water has been spurred by increased demand for new supplies and a better return on dollars invested in advanced treatment.

Even more conservation and recycling programs are being recommended by 2020, when water shortages in California could become critical if no actions are taken by then. Substituting recycled water for imported fresh water can result in reduced diversions from historic sources for urban California -- the Mono Lake basin, the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary, and the Colorado River basin. Recycled water has proven to be a reliable source, especially during droughts.

Nothing New
California's water supply is formed partly from surface water, groundwater, and recycled water. But, in effect, all the water we use is recycled to some extent. Treated water from cities flows into rivers that feed aqueducts, and groundwater basins absorb agricultural runoff that is repumped many times. Basically, all of the water we have on earth was here from its creation, used again and again. The water cycle— the natural rhythm that evaporates ocean water and deposits rain and snow on the land — is the greatest water recycler of all.

If you live in urban California, most of your water has already been recycled before it is highly treated and reaches its final destination, your tap. Fifteen major wastewater treatment plants discharge into the Sacramento River watershed and six major wastewater treatment plants discharge into the San Joaquin River watershed. These rivers are the two major tributaries which flow into the Delta, a source of drinking water for much of Southern California.

Water recycling is not new in California. Formal reuse started in 1896, when State health authorities began regulating the use of reclaimed water on certain crops. For many decades, California public agencies and private businesses have been taking water from wastewater treatment plants and using it for processing and cooling towers, making artificial snow, running commercial laundries, irrigating highway landscaping, and filling recreational lakes. For such nonpotable uses, public opinion is generally favorable.

More than half the water recycling projects in the State are found in Southern California, such as these three:

• Since the 1960s, Los Angeles County has operated an indirect-use system in which wastewater, mixed with storm water and river water, supplies about 16 percent of total flow into groundwater basins. This mixture then is used as a source of drinking water.
• The West Basin Municipal Water District delivers reclaimed water to a variety of clients, including Los Angeles International Airport, Westchester Park and Golf Course, oil refineries, and other industries and businesses.
• West Basin’s El Segundo facility protects groundwater by injecting recycled water into the ground, creating a barrier against ocean water intrusion.

Water agencies in Orange County, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area are looking more closely at what is called "indirect potable reuse," the introduction of reclaimed water into groundwater or reservoirs, where it is mixed with other supplies. At present, direct use from the water treatment facility, usually for landscape irrigation and industrial purposes, requires separate pipes (colored a distinctive purple). Indirect use of more highly treated reclaimed water mixed with other supplies would not require so-called “double piping.”

Future water recycling projects will probably focus on direct, nonpotable uses like landscape irrigation, particularly as housing develops in water-short areas. But as population demand puts more pressure on existing supplies, more potable reuse projects are likely to be proposed.

Two major regional planning efforts - in northern and southern California - are looking at recycled water as a means to ease pressure on existing and projected supplies. Both programs are supported by federal and State agencies, including the Department of Water Resources.

Bay Area Projects
For many years, San Francisco Bay Area cities and towns have irrigated golf courses, playing fields and parks with recycled water. Gasoline refineries use it in their cooling towers and inmates at the Marin County jail flush toilets with it. But generally the region lags behind southern California in total use. With another 1.4 million people expected to live in the Bay Area by 2020, more water recycling is needed to prevent expensive treated water from continuing to flow into the area, with potentially harmful environmental results upstream.

"Most of urban California imports its water, sometimes from great distances, treats it to a high standard, uses it once, and then throws it away into bays or the ocean," says Deborah Braver, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manager for the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program and formerly with DWR’s recycling program. "We will not be able to afford to do this much longer."

Established in 1993, the program has studied potential uses for water recycled from Bay Area wastewater treatment plants. A regional approach was chosen to achieve greater water supply increases, more environmental benefits, and competitive costs. Projects are planned or underway in more than 25 Bay Area communities, with the potential for producing up to 650,000 acre-feet by 2040.

Southern California Plans
In Southern California, groundwater contamination, seawater intrusion, and limits on imported sources could combine with another drought to severely limit water supplies. Greater progress in water recycling is considered essential.

Of the wastewater in Southern California that is treated and discharged each year to spreading grounds, surface waters, or the ocean, 331,000 acre-feet is reclaimed annually for nonpotable uses, including irrigation, industry, recreation, wildlife enhancement, and replenishment of groundwater aquifers. But more is needed to provide potable water for a growing population. A regional planning effort similar to the Bay Area’s began in 1993 to study how to expand water reuse. The Southern California Comprehensive Water Reclamation and Reuse Study, a 6-year, $6 million effort, is helping water agencies to develop management strategies to meet increasing demands.

San Diego: “Toilet to Tap”
One place where water recycling could help defray the pressures of growth is arid San Diego, which annually imports 90 percent of its water. City government recently proposed one of the largest potable uses of recycled water in the nation. Under the plan, highly purified water from a wastewater treatment plant would be blended with imported supplies in a reservoir and then piped back to households after further treatment. It was said the city could deliver this highly purified water to its 260,000 water customers by 2005.

But a big problem arose. San Diego proposed becoming the first city in the state, and only the second in the nation, to add purified wastewater directly to a drinking water reservoir. That idea evoked fears of disease and infection, a general revulsion known among water recyclers as the "yuck factor.” Despite efforts to educate the public, many people could not shake this “toilet to tap” image.

For now the project is stalled, based on opposition over treatment and distribution costs, and drinking water quality and safety. (A similar situation occurred in the East Bay Area.) But more nonpotable uses are still being given a great deal of consideration.

Where Do We Go From Here?
Despite some local setbacks, California overall is well on its way to meeting the goals set forth in the Water Recycling Act of 1991, according to Peter MacLaggan, executive director of WateReuse Association of California, a nonprofit organization with its own financing authority for water agencies. The goal is to increase from the current 485,000 acre-feet to 700,000 acre-feet by 2000, and 1 million acre-feet by 2010.

A survey conducted by the association, in conjunction with DWR, found that by 2020 there will be another 250 recycling projects in the State, valued at $8 billion, bringing total water recycling to about 1.5 million acre-feet a year.

While potable reclaimed water use will still account for only a small part of overall use, MacLaggan says the expansion of indirect, potable supplies will still be needed to meet demand.

"The bar is set very high for potable use of recycled water," he says, noting strict regulations on treatment and safety. "I think it can be argued that the highest quality of water is possible compared to tap or grocery store water, that will meet State and federal drinking water standards."

"New ideas can be threatening if one is unfamiliar with the purification technology,” says Bahman Sheikh, a consulting water recycling engineer and member of a DWR-State Health Services committee that examined potable reuse. After a two year study, the committee in 1995 concluded that "planned indirect potable reuse of advanced treated reclaimed water using surface water reservoirs is feasible... and is an additional option for consideration by California communities seeking to secure reliable water supplies."

MacLaggan of the WateReuse Association is confident that future projects will continue to be proposed and approved, provided the public understands the projects are safe, can benefit the environment, and can reduce water supply concerns in their communities.

"Education is the key," he says. "We need to recognize that there is a lot of work to be done to build public confidence before there is universal acceptance for domestic use."

Water recycling has proven to be an essential part of many local water management strategies. Increased recycling and conservation throughout the United States has led to a decrease of about 10% in water used per person since 1980, according to the U.S. Geologic Survey. Costs for building new recycling facilities will be high, but the outcome can be a never-ending cycle of clean water -- something the alchemists never dreamed of.

SIDEBAR
How We Use Recycled Water
According to a 1995 survey by the Department of Water Resources, California annually recycles about 485,000 acre-feet of water.

Use	Percentage
Agriculture	32
Groundwater recharge *	27
Landscape irrigation	17
Other	13
Industrial	7
Environmental	3
Seawater barrier	1

* Most of this water mingles with existing groundwater and is pumped out for drinking water supplies.