Oceanside has been awarded a $69 million loan to help finance the innovative Pure Water project that broke ground with a ceremony at the San Luis Rey Valley site in February.
The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation loan from the federal Environmental Protection Agency will cover nearly half of the project’s $158 million costs, city officials said. The 1.2 percent interest rate is expected to save an estimated $24 million over typical market financing costs.
When completed in 2022, Pure Water Oceanside will provide more than 32 percent of the city’s water supply, or 3 million to 5 million gallons daily, in a region that depends heavily on water imported from Northern California or outside the state. The city’s goal is to obtain half its water locally by 2030.
The Pure Water Oceanside project will be the first in San Diego County to clean waste water to drinkable standards, inject it into the underground aquifer, and withdraw it six months or more later for potable use. Several other agencies in the county have begun similar programs, and the city of San Diego plans to begin production in 2024.
“We are focused not only on today, but also are committed to planning for tomorrow to ensure future generations will have access to high-quality drinking water,” Oceanside Water Utilities Director Cari Dale said in a news release.
Dale, City Councilman Jack Feller, U.S. Rep. Mike Levin and EPA Assistant Administrator of Water David Ross attended a Sept. 17 news conference to announce the loan.
“EPA’s support for this project illustrates two agency priorities as we work to meet 21st century water demands - reusing the water that we have and revamping our nation’s water infrastucture,” Ross said at the event.
The EPA selected Oceanside in 2019 as one of 38 agencies across the nation eligible to apply for the low-cost loan under a federal program to encourage water re-use strategies and investments.
Most cities in San Diego County have used water recycled to a lesser degree for irrigation and industrial purposes for decades. The push for potable recycled water is relatively new.
One of the pioneers in the field, the Orange County Water District, has been using a groundwater replenishment system since 2008 that now supplies the water needs of nearly 850,000 people daily.
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September 25, 2020 at 05:52AM
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