Padre Dam water purification plant distinguishes East County

Water purifying was, and will be, a major factor in water conservation in East County, with the Padre Dam Municipal Water District leading the way with a new Advanced Water Purification Facility at the Santee Lakes facility. Funded through a Prop 50 grant from the California State Department of Water Resources, and with project partners Biwater, Trussell Technologies Inc., Harris & Associates and Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, East County’s leaders are optimistic about sustainability of clean water for residents.

Water purifying was, and will be, a major factor in water conservation in East County, with the Padre Dam Municipal Water District leading the way with a new Advanced Water Purification Facility at the Santee Lakes facility. Funded through a Prop 50 grant from the California State Department of Water Resources, and with project partners Biwater, Trussell Technologies Inc., Harris & Associates and Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, East County’s leaders are optimistic about sustainability of clean water for residents.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the plant was held on April 10, with representation from the California State Assembly, Department of the Interior, El Cajon City Council, San Diego Board of Supervisor Dianne Jacob, the offices of Congressman Duncan Hunter and Sen. Joel Anderson, and the water agencies involved in the project. The water purification facility is something to be proud of—innovative and exemplary, with water districts and agencies taking good notice of Padre Dam’s work.

The water reclamation project in Santee actually goes back a long way. Ray Stoyer wrote a letter to then president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, asking for help on the project. Kennedy wrote back and offered support, and Santee Lakes is the result, with 750,000 visitors per year.

“Recycling water is nothing new to Padre Dam, it’s been part of the culture since the 1950s,” said Doug Wilson, board president of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District.

Wilson said how the Lakes received “worldwide attention when they opened in 1961 as a water recycling project and reclamation facility.” These days, two million gallons of water are recycled each day at the water recycling facility.

“Building on the innovative creativity from our past, the natural next step is this advanced water purification demonstration project that will test feasibility and I’m sure it will be very successful in developing a full scale water treatment project for East County residents,” Wilson said.

When it comes to the drought, everything counts and anything can help, which is why now is the perfect time to acknowledge the good ideas that have long been shared among like-minded people of action in East County.

“El Cajon, Santee, Helix Water District, Padre Dam, and the County of San Diego are all working together to create a long term source of water,” said Tony Ambrose, El Cajon council member. More control over the water supply is the goal, Ambrose explained, because the cost of importing water is going up, and sending El Cajon waste water to Pt. Loma for treatment and disposal is based on 19th century technology, according to Ambrose. “What if we kept that waste water here in East County, what if we purified that water and used it for drinking water, that is what we want to see now,” said Ambrose.

The collective optimism shared at the facility’s opening was not so much desperate times call for desperate measures, but confidence in the new “old” solutions, in addition to the collaboration for new ones. Helix Water District Board Vice President Charles (Chuck) Muse assured the audience that these partnerships and ideas have already helped to guarantee clean water for the rain or shine days ahead.

“Our water future is bright, we have a drought proof supply of water right here in our community,” Muse said. “The advanced water purification project will ensure that East County gets safe, reliable water supply that will sustain our economy and quality of life for the future.”

Mark Weston, Board Chair for the San Diego County Water Authority, told those in attendance that San Diego County has already done what Governor Jerry Brown has suggested (conservation, recycling, transfers, desalination, re-purifying waste water) for the state.

“Our challenge is to get our message to the Governor that projects like Padre Dam’s are not only viable, but they are happening and they will be our next water supply. We have done all the right things,” Weston said.

The model of what East County/San Diego citizens have paid for, he concluded will move us forward in periods of water shortage. 

Other factors, like educating people at the Visitors Center and the Lakes about recycling and purification, aided tremendously in advancing the project and its expectation to fight the problems of a decreasing water supply. Allen Carlisle, CEO/General Manager of Padre Dam Municipal Water District, won Supervisor Dianne Jacob over on the project with such information.

“This would be significant even if we weren’t in a sustained drought situation,” Jacob said. “Way ahead of your time, Padre Dam. The water that will be coming out will be as pure as the water that comes out of the tap from the Colorado River.”

To learn more about the project and facility, go to www.PadreDam.org. On social media, @PadreDam.