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Wastewater Plant To Wean SF Off Hetch Hetchy
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San Francisco uses groundwater and water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir to landscape the lawns of Golden Gate Park, Lincoln Park, and the Presidio Golf Course. Conservationists argue though that's a waste for a scarce resource though.
Tuesday night the public will get its first look at a proposed facility in Golden Gate Park that would treat the wastewater so it could be used to use that treated water to irrigate the parks. Building the facility will cost about $150 million.
The facility would treat the recycled water using membrane filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection to make it safe for use in the park, according to Assistant General Manager Steve Richie of the Public Utilities Commission.
Currently, the facility is set to recycle 2 million gallons a day of water, about 1/40 of what the city uses on a normal day. Richie said it would be far more costly to refit more of the city’s water delivery system so that homeowners could use the recycled water. That's because it would cost too much to refit San Francisco's plumbing system, Richie said.
"One of the challenges in San Francisco is finding uses for recycled water," Richie said. "It would be very hard to go through and put a whole new plumbing system in for individual home owner use on the west side of the city."
Money for the facility would come from the $4.6 billion Water System Improvement Program that is largely meant to earthquake proof the aqueducts, pipes and reservoirs that deliver water from the Sierra to Bay Area homes. But Richie said the program is also meant to stretch the city’s water supply so there will be plenty in the future
"It's time to do this now because this really is part of our commitment under the Water System Improvement Program," Richie said. "That means more recycled water, more conservation and more reliance on groundwater in San Francisco."
The city is also encouraging homeowners and renters people to use "gray water," that is wastewater generated from activities like laundry, dishwashing, and bathing that can be recycled on-site. The city has a rebate program to subsidize sales of the kits.
"It's a small amount but it's everybody doing their part," Richie said.
Learn more about the proposed water treatment plant and process.
