The 2015 Water Year just ended and more than 5,700 registered users hauled just shy of 45 million gallons of recycled water for irrigation at home. For a state locked in a historic 4 year drought this is very telling information.
As we look ahead, we should take every haulers motivation to keep their yards alive and put forward plans to bring recycled water to the masses in an economically efficient way. If anything, we need a New “Water” Year Resolution.
I reached out to every residential recycled water fill station in California for their water year end stats. Of the 18 Recycled Water Fill Stations that opened before October 1, 2015 only seven responded. Lots of calls were not returned – even after much reassurance that every agency loved this blog and they were amazed that someone cared this much about recycled water.
So lets get to it. This is an alphabetical list from agencies that responded.
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
As September drew to a close, so did the number of visitors to CCCSD’s Recycled Water Fill Station. Perhaps because kids are back in school and free time to pick up recycled water has dwindled. CCCSD gave away half a million gallons less than they did in August. Overall, they gave away a total of 10,049,105 gallons to 2,047 registered users.
Their fill station had 47,727 total visitors in a year which equates out to 210 gallons per trip (1700 pounds) of water. That’s a lot of wear and tear on a vehicle.
For the record, they opened on October 25, 2014, so they were open for almost the entire water year.
City of Brentwood
The City of Brentwood opened their fill station on June 16th, 2015 and in 3.5 months they gave away 11,945,000 gallons of recycled water.
As we head into fall and winter months, they are deciding on how they want to run their fill station when it rains. Most agencies will close when water falls from the sky. City of Brentwood will probably follow suit.
City of Healdsburg
City of Healdsburg is a water and wastewater provider, much like most of the fill stations that responded. They are a smaller provider and thus have less water to give away for free. Their users took a total of 82,985 gallons of recycled water at their self-haul fill station.
They haven’t been open long, about 2 months. But still, well done!
Delta Diablo Sanitary District
Of all the fill stations I spoke with, Delta Diablo Sanitary District (DDSD) really drives home the point of a change in the industry. DDSD receives about 13 million gallons of wastewater a day and most of it will be returned to the community through a vast network of pipelines. They are a true – Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF).
DDSD opened on July 11th, 2015 and as of September 6th, they had given away just shy of a million gallons – 967,422 to be exact with 414 registered users (I’m sure this will change when new stats arrive in my inbox, stay tuned!).
Dublin San Ramon Services District
We have to thank Dublin San Ramon Services District for making Residential Recycled Water fill stations a reality. They are the pioneers that started it all.
They first opened in June 2014 and to date they have given away more than 21,530,000 gallons of recycled water to over 3,400 registered users. They operate two fill stations in two different cities (although one is closing for the winter) and are spending millions to plumb their service area with purple pipe.
Irvine Ranch Water District
In Southern California, Irvine Ranch Water District officially opened on September 12th for a 7 days per week operation. In two weeks they gave away 10,000 gallons of recycled water to 162 registered users.
Matthew Veeh, Irvine Ranch Water District Public Affairs Manager said “we have noticed a recent up-tick in the number of visitors to the station over the last couple of weeks. We hope that this trend continues as more people realize the benefit of having access to free recycled water for their landscapes.“
Very true – if their neighbors in Northern California are any proof – demand should pick up. Unless it rains. 😉
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District/Triunfo Sanitation District
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District has had the fewest number of gallons served (on our list) with 1,551 gallons for 42 registered users. They said “so far, we have learned it is a slow start, but things are slowly ramping up.”
If we have learned anything about this process – it takes time to get the word out. Keep in mind, recycled water isn’t new at LVMWD/Triunfo SD Joint Powers Authority. Their recycled water distribution system consists of 4 tanks, 5 pumping stations, 3 reservoirs and 66 miles of pipeline. A fill station is just another way to disperse recovered water and interact with the community.
Scotts Valley Water District
Scotts Valley Water District opened on August 26th. They, like most newer stations coming on line now along the California coast have a limit on how much a resident can haul. Setup with a 250 gallon limit, their 53 registered users have hauled over 28,087 gallons.
Scotts Valley is no stranger to dry conditions and their fill station is making their residents happy.
Everyone is happy with free recycled water to keep their landscape alive.
Note: if you’re a fill station operator and would like your data included, get in touch with this blog via Facebook.com/RecycledH2O or on Twitter.com/RecycledH20
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