Gina Dorrington, Wastewater Utility Manager explaining the demonstration facility to interested attendees.
Recently Ventura Water unveiled the VenturaWaterPure Potable Reuse Demonstration Facility to distinguished guests including Ventura Mayor Cheryl Heitmann before it officially opened to the public for tours on July 18.
VenturaWaterPure is a pilot program for the City of Ventura. Ventura along with other water providers throughout California, is investigating sustainable ways to meet long term water supply demands. The City currently provides recycled water from the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility (located on Ventura Ave.) to two golf courses and landscape irrigation in the Harbor and Olivas Drive areas. Adding “potable reuse” purification technologies at the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility will extend Ventura’s use of “local” sources of water including sewer water.
This water purification process has already been successfully used by San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties. Ventura Water has been studying additional water reuse for many years as well. Ventura Water has chosen to be involve in a nationwide study that evaluates blending options with other water resources prior to the delivery of drinking water to customers.
This “test” installation now produces 20 gallons of water per minute. This water is being sent to many testing labs throughout the country to analyze its use as drinking water and domestic use. If a large reuse facility is ever built it will take one acre of land which is available at this site located on Spinnaker Dr. across from the Harbor.
Tours of the VenturaWaterPure demonstration facility will be held every Saturday from 9 to 11 am for the
general public. Tours are limited to 20 people. Please sign up for the public tours before noon on the Friday before the tour by emailing Gina Dorrington ([email protected]) or calling 677-4131. Private groups interested in week day tours can also be accommodated with advanced notice.
The tours are led by Gina Dorrington, Wastewater Utility Manager who very carefully explains the process and the many steps that are necessary to turn sewer water into potable water and what it would mean for Ventura. Her presentation includes a slide show and video prior to touring the small actual demonstration facility.
This might also give you the opportunity to walk around the beautiful holding ponds located there (A Ventura secret gem) and see the many birds that call it home. Gina would be happy to explain how you can do this.
Ventura Mayor Cheryl Heitmann has stated “The City of Ventura relies entirely on local water supplies which have become limited during this unprecedented drought. The VenturaWaterPure demonstration facility brings attention to the value of potable reuse as a renewable resource that can provide a cost effective and sustainable supply of high quality water. It will help Ventura to expand our water supply portfolio and improve supply reliability.”
There are many benefits of potable reuse in Ventura:
- Locally controlled, reliable water supply
- A sufficient supply to support the economy
- A high-quality water supply
- Reducing wastewater discharge
- Seawater intrusion protection
- A more diversified water supply portfolio
- Increased water supply at a lower cost than imported water
- Reduced impact on groundwater and river sources
A concern that will need to be addressed when a working facility is constructed is convincing people that it is safe to be drinking water that was once sewer water. Other cities have managed to do this.
