Upland to start water project soon
Water that goes down drains in houses and businesses will soon be used for public landscaping.
In partnership with the Chino-based Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Upland officials will begin work in the fall on a number of recycled water projects in the eastern portion of the city.
The $20 million project will provide recycled water for landscape irrigation, industrial use and groundwater recharge. The water will be available for city parks and schools, the Euclid Avenue median, Upland Hills Country Club and San Antonio Community Hospital.
The locations "would be automatically switched over to recycled water use, which then, of course, in turn makes more potable water available to our residents," Public Works Director Anthony La said. "So this is a way of achieving water conservation."
The project will be funded by $5 million in stimulus money from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and $2 million from the city. The utilities agency will provide the rest of the funding.
Materials and equipment need to be provided to the city before construction can begin, La said.
Construction is to be completed in phases over the next year.
The first phase will be on 16th Street from the eastern city limit to Campus Avenue, La said.
The project also stretches south to 14th Street, east to a mobile home park and south to Hospital Parkway. It then goes through several parking lots around San Antonio Community Hospital
to Arrow Highway and east to Grove Avenue.
The agency will oversee the construction of a regional pipeline and the city will be in charge of installing pipelines to customers.
The wastewater from city residences and businesses will be treated through a regional system and later used for nondrinking purposes.
The agency has recycled water projects in Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga. There are plans for a system in Fontana.
The cities benefit from the system because they do not have to import as much recycled water, said Tom Love, CEO and general manager of the agency.
Cost to import water is $600 per acre-foot annually, he said. One acre foot is about 326,000 gallons.
"We maximize the use of our groundwater, and we certainly want to use the recycled water and minimize the dependence on imported supply," Love said.
The drought and environmental issues in the Sacramento Delta have led to less water that is more expensive, he said.
"Those imported supplies are not as reliable and so it's both cost-effective to save money and avoid the purchase of expensive imported water and also to improve local reliability," he said.
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