City adopts policy to reduce salt in recycled water
Jana Seshadri
Los Altos Town Crier
03/22/2011
At Palo Alto’s recommendation, the Los Altos City Council Feb. 22 adopted a salinity reduction policy for recycled water to keep within acceptable standards.
According to a report by Los Altos Associate Civil Engineer Aida Fairman, Palo Alto operates the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, which treats wastewater from nearby partner cities, including Los Altos, Mountain View, Los Altos Hills and Stanford, and the East Palo Alto Sanitary District.
With a goal of lowering the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in the recycled water to less than 600 parts per million (PPM, equivalent to milligrams per liter), Palo Alto city officials recommend that cities take steps to prevent the unnecessary addition of salts to the sewer system.
During testing, Los Altos’ source water TDS before use measured 326 PPM, the highest among the partner cities. Such a level could be the result of blending well water with Santa Clara Valley Water District water in the city’s water supply, Fairman said.
The Palo Alto waste treatment plant measures the partner cities’ wastewater TDS following use by residents, after establishing a base level of 350 PPM. Los Altos’ wastewater TDS following use by residents measured 655 PPM, according to a water analysis study conducted last year.
