The Santa Clara Valley Water District is accelerating plans to use purified recycled water for groundwater replenishment and is evaluating potential project sites.
In Campbell, the water district will install five monitoring wells up to 400 feet deep in the Budd Avenue parking lot at John D. Morgan Park. These wells will provide valuable information to help the district evaluate the potential use of purified recycled water in existing groundwater recharge ponds.
Soil samples collected during well drilling will also be part of the laboratory studies on how purified water might affect the groundwater. These tests will help identify if there are any related water quality issues or effects on soil permeability. That data will be necessary as the district applies for state permits to add purified water to our groundwater basins.
Since the district’s goal is to boost the valley’s local water supply, it looks to make more use out of the 14 billion gallons of pure, clean water produced at the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center (SVAWPC). The center uses micro filtration, reverse osmosis and ultra violet light disinfection to produce highly purified water that exceeds California’s drinking water standards. Currently, the advanced purified water is blended with treated waste water to produce advanced purified recycled water. As of now, this water is only permitted for use for industrial, agriculture and landscaping purposes.
The district has embarked on an aggressive program to increase the production of purified water to replenish the groundwater basins. The program includes projects that will expand the purification center, build injection wells to deposit purified water down in groundwater aquifers, lay pipe from the purification center to percolation ponds and build satellite purification facilities.
The wells at John D. Morgan Park will provide valuable information to help the district to evaluate the potential use of purified recycled water in existing groundwater recharge ponds in the Campbell area.
To learn more or to take a free tour of the SVAWPC, visit our website at www.purewatersv.org.
Valley Water News 