Recycled water project is expected to save 600 million gallons of water per year in Fontana
Fontana Herald News
09/22/2011
The City of Fontana and the Fontana Water Company have signed a groundbreaking joint recycled water project agreement that will take highly treated wastewater and use it on landscaped areas around the city, saving more than 600 million gallons of fresh drinking water each year.
The company estimates that nearly 2,000 acre-feet of recycled water per year will be used for landscaping at schools, parks, for local commercial customers, and landscape irrigation locations in the southern portion of the city. An acre-foot of water is approximately 326,000 gallons.
"Water is the lifeblood of any community, but it is particularly important here in Fontana's arid climate. Taking advantage of this recycled water means we will have that much more fresh drinking water when we need it," said Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren. "This is a great example of the city and Fontana Water Company working together to ensure that the people and the business of our city have what they need to be prosperous."
Fontana Water Company will design and build the distribution system. Recycled water requires an entirely separate pipeline system so that it is not mixed with drinking water.
"Fontana Water Company has been providing the community with safe, reliable drinking water for many decades and water recycling and conservation have become a very important resource for us," said Robert K. Young, general manager of the Fontana Water Company. "It's time that we use high quality recycled water for irrigating parks, schools, and green belts instead of using precious drinking water resources. Every drop of water we save through recycling saves money for our customers and helps us make the most of the fresh local drinking water that we have available."
