San Diego $3 Billion Water Project Receives Permit to Begin Phase 1

(UC) — Water regulators in San Diego have granted the city a permit to begin Phase 1 of its $3 billion Pure Water San Diego Program. 

A National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit has been granted to the City by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board to add purified water to the Miramar Reservoir for Phase 1 of the Program.

The Pure Water San Diego Program is a phased, multi-year program with a goal to locally supply one-third of the City’s water supply by the end of 2035.

Phase 1 includes a series of facilities and pipelines to clean recycled water to produce 30 million gallons per day (MGD) of high-quality purified water, reducing the City’s dependence on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River.

The purified water will blend with the City’s imported and local water sources and be re-treated at the Miramar Water Treatment Plant before distribution to the public.

Phase 1 projects include the Morena Pump Station and Pipelines, North City Water Reclamation Plant Expansion, North City Pure Water Facility, and North City Pure Water Pump Station and Pipeline.

The NPDES permit issued to the City is the first for a reservoir augmentation project in California and a major milestone for the Pure Water San Diego Program.

“Water supply is perhaps the most critical issue that San Diego must continue to address given its semi-arid climate and reliance on imported supplies,” according to San Diego Public Utilities Department Assistant Director John Stufflebean.

Stantec and Brown and Caldwell are providing program management services to support the City with Phase 1 of the Program from planning through implementation, including the integration of all services and facilities.

Early site work construction activities at the North City Water Reclamation Plant and the future Pure Water Facility are currently underway.

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