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State-of-the-Artwork Water Purification Plant Helps Silicon Valley Battle Drought – CBS San Francisco

SAN JOSE (KPIX) – The Santa Clara Valley Water District, the wholesaler for the South Bay, is making efforts to polish the image of purified wastewater and lay the groundwork for the replenishment of local aquifers.

At a press event at the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center, Rick Callender, CEO of Valley Water, spoke about the need to keep saving while developing ways to increase supply.

At the event, employees distributed water bottles to elected officials and dignitaries with this message printed on the label: “That used to be wastewater #GetOverIt.”

“(Recycled water) may have an image problem, but I think once people are educated they will understand that if you look at the ecosystem, all water is recycled,” Callender said.

The cleaning center receives water from the regional sewage system San José-Santa Clara on the opposite side of the street, which is pumped through a microfiltration and reverse osmosis system and guided by UV light.

At this stage, the water is cleaner than what can be achieved with home filtration systems, the district said. However, it cannot legally be considered “potable” until it has undergone “advanced oxidation”. The district wants to upgrade the cleaning center and install the technology.

Currently the purification center produces 8 million gallons per day, the majority of which is diverted for industrial use, landscape irrigation, and agricultural crops, while the remainder is dumped into the bay.

Once classified as “potable,” it is up to the state Water Resources Control Board to approve the use of millions of gallons of purified water to recharge aquifers in Campbell.

Callender commented on the district’s efforts to get the water resources committee to act quickly.

“I think this is just the beginning of a conversation we need to have. We need to have it now, we need to finish it, and we need to be able to find ways to ensure that we can use advanced purified water for water supply. I think this is just the beginning of a very long conversation and hopefully the state will be able to step on the regulatory accelerator and figure out how to do this quickly, ”Callender said.

The district will decide whether to expand the current water treatment center on Zanker Road or build a new facility in Palo Alto. Callender said the district is reviewing options for both.

“We are in the worst drought since the 1970s. Our reservoirs will be empty if climate change doesn’t go away. Droughts won’t go away, ”Callender said.

Drinking the purified sewage, Shane Kent said in San Jose, it tasted “good.”

“It’s not like tap water or anything like that, but I don’t notice that much of a difference,” said Kent. “But if I saw a fresh bottle of water and something that was treated wastewater – although technically the same – I’d probably prefer the regular bottle of water to this. So it’s definitely a strange image problem. “

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