The District and the City developed comprehensive installation and testing guidelines. Buildings designed with a central utility core, were found to be the most favorable to accommodate the use of recycled water. The new program will ultimately recycle 100,000 acre-feet per year. Recycled water produced by the project is distributed locally to more than 85 customers, representing a wide range of beneficial irrigation and industrial uses. Two large industrial users, Chevron and Mobil Oil Refineries, use recycled water in their cooling towers.
Plans are underway to expand water use to include boiler feed at the refineries.
The recycled water is more reliable than the coastal aquifer supply, which is overdrafted and, in many cases, too salty for agricultural use. Project operation began in the fall of 1997, following approximately two decades of planning and implementation, including an 11-year technical study and 7 years of developing the institutional and financing arrangements to make the project work. The technical study, which included extensive public outreach and a comprehensive monitoring program, demonstrated that produce grown with recycled water is at least as safe as that grown with well water. The local growers are closely involved with the project and actively participate in decisions related to its operation. The recycled water has been supplying Santee Lakes Park and Campground for the last 30 years.