Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Public Works Department
On June 28, Santa Barbara County celebrated the substantial completion of the Laguna County Sanitation District Recycled Water Distribution Project. The project delivers recycled water over a 3.5-mile pipeline from the Wastewater Reclamation Facility to a 1 million gallon tank at Waller Park outside Santa Maria. Waller Park is owned and operated by the County and has 65 acres of irrigated turf that uses 84 million gallons of water each year. Connecting recycled water to the park will save water and money by reducing groundwater use from its well. Raminha Construction, Inc. started the $5 million project, funded by Laguna County Sanitation capital reserves and a $2 million grant from the State Department of Water Resources, on May 3, 2021.
Laguna County Sanitation District Manager Marty Wilder explained, “Groundwater is commonly used for agriculture and landscape irrigation. For large places like Waller Park, reclaimed water helps preserve that by offsetting the need to pump.” Public Works Director Scott McGolpin added, “We process around 650 million gallons of recycled water every year here in Waller Park, and it’s estimated that the park uses 84 million gallons of water every year. So this certainly leaves us with more than enough recycled water to deliver to other parts in the area.”
Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said, “The biggest problem I hear from my constituents all the time is what are we doing about water? It’s really important that we not only embrace conservation on an individual level, but we embrace technology and projects like this. We need to embrace the recycling, hopefully desalinization, and other opportunities that we can have here in the Santa Maria Valley to continue to grow in a balanced way and have the future that we all want for our families.”
Supervisor Das Williams said, “This is a more energy friendly, environmentally friendly, and drought resilient strategy. I hope this is not the last one we see in the next couple of years. I think people are becoming more aware that this is vital to making their communities drought resilient. And I think the County will lead the way to a more drought resilient community.”
Laguna County Sanitation processes 1.8 million gallons of wastewater daily for 35,000 Santa Maria and Orcutt residents, including the new Northern Branch Jail. The wastewater reclamation facility is currently undergoing a $53 million upgrade project. Upgrades include new headworks, an ultraviolet disinfection break tank, a laboratory and operations building, activated sludge and secondary clarifier process facilities, and onsite stormwater and electrical improvements. Once the upgrades are completed, anticipated in 2023, the plant will comply with Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board requirements and master recycling permits for the next 50 years. For more information, visit https://www.countyofsb.org/1355/Laguna-County-Sanitation-District.
Not only does vegetation reduce temperatures they are great sequesters of carbon and are oxygen producers. If the state wouldn’t continue the mass draining of reservoirs to the ocean in the hopes of restarting smelt and salmon breeding grounds in streams that haven’t seen these fish in over 30 years we’d have plenty of water for all our housing needs AND irrigation for these 100% organic, temperature reducing, sequesters of carbon.