NEW WATER PLANT IS UP AND RUNNING
More than 15,000 homes a year will benefit from a new desalination facility
A plant that removes salt from water is now running in Menifee, giving officials another tool to reduce their reliance on imported water as California’s drought continues.
The Eastern Municipal Water District opened its third groundwater desalination plant, the Perris II Groundwater Desalination Facility, on June 23. The plant will remove salt from underground water basins tapped by wells in Perris — nearly 5.4 million gallons of water per day, according to the water district.
The single-story facility houses several pumps that quietly clean groundwater, removing salt to meet drinking-water standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State Water Resources Control Board. Such plants are not common in the Inland Empire, though there are others.
The clean drinking water is delivered to customers and what’s left over, the brine — a mixture of salt and minerals — is sent to the ocean through the Inland Empire Brine Line. The new facility will provide water for more than 15,000 homes a year, according to the district.
The plant allows the district to use more local and recycled water that reduces its need for imported water from the Colorado River, Eastern General Manager Joe Mouawad said. The Colorado has been historically dry and provides water for California, six other states and two countries.
As the district’s population grows, Mouawad said, Eastern has used the same amount of imported water over 30 years. Its desalination facilities and recycled water programs are to thank for that, he said.
The third desalter cost the district about $72 million, a price tag that includes $22.5 million in state funding, according to the district.
Cities that get water from Eastern include Canyon Lake, Hemet, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Perris and Temecula.
“As California and the entire western U.S. face historic drought conditions, expanding local water supply resiliency has never been more critical,” Mouawad said.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Riverside County is currently experiencing severe to extreme drought.
A few weeks ago, Riverside officials asked the public to cut back on water by limiting outdoor watering to three days a week for those served by
Riverside Public Utilities and the Western Municipal Water District.
In April, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the regional wholesaler, announced water restrictions for Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties to counter the drought. About 6 million residents will be limited to outdoor watering once a day, which took effect June 1.
In March, Californians used nearly 19% more water than in the past two years following the driest January, February and March recorded, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
Other water districts in the Inland Empire have groundwater desalters and recycling programs.
The Chino Basin Desalter Authority runs two desalter plants, one in Chino and one in Jurupa Valley. The authority includes eight local agencies: Chino, Chino Hills, Norco, Ontario, the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, the Santa Ana River Water Company, the Western Municipal Water District and the Jurupa Community Services District.
The facilities strip salt and natural chemicals found in soil, air and water. One plant facility treats 12 million gallons daily, the other about 23 gallons of groundwater a day, authority General Manager Tom O’Neill said.
O’Neill said desalter facilities are needed when salt needs to be extracted from water, making desalters “kind of rare,” if other water suppliers don’t have salty water. They’re also expensive, he said.
The San Bernardino Municipal Water District, which serves the eastern San Bernardino Valley, Crafton Hills, and a portion of the Yucaipa Valley, doesn’t have a desalination facility, but runs recycled water programs that treat wastewater to make drinkable water.
With 80% of its underground water basin full, the district has enough water to meet demand, San Bernardino Municipal spokesperson Kristeen Farlow said, adding that the basin is the agency’s primary water source.
The three desalination plants in Menifee will provide quality water for the long-term and serve the district’s fast-growing population, Mouawad said.
Another benefit of the facilities is that, removing about 65,000 tons of salt a year prevents salty water from seeping into the groundwater basin, Mouawad said.