DSRSD Receives Grant to Study Recycled Water System

- By Sue Stephenson, Dublin San Ramon Services District

The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation has awarded Dublin San Ramon Services District $150,000 to conduct a feasibility study regarding expansion of an existing recycled water distribution system and treatment facilities.

Completion of a feasibility study is the first step in the process of obtaining $6 million in federal funds, 25 percent of the total cost of planning, designing and constructing this project.

The goal of the project is to enable DSRSD to fill in the gaps in its existing recycled water distribution system, a significant tool for reusing water to irrigate the region.

The District began producing significant amounts of recycled water from its wastewater stream in 2004 and provides recycled water primarily to major irrigation water customers in new developments in eastern Dublin and the Dougherty Valley area of San Ramon. In 2010, DSRSD produced 820 million gallons (2,516 acre feet) of recycled water.

However, several gaps in the recycled water service exist in the District: the older established regions of Dublin (primarily western and central areas), Reserve Forces Training Area, , and the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin.

California’s urgent need to preserve and extend potable water supplies now makes extending recycled water service to the District’s entire service area vitally important. 

The feasibility study will analyze a project to design and build an expansion of the District’s Jeffrey G. Hansen Water Recycling Plant and the distribution network needed to deliver recycled water to new irrigation customers in the older areas of Dublin.

If built, the estimated $24 million project would reduce potable water demand by approximately 347 acre feet (113 million gallons) per year. It would cost approximately $13 million to expand the Jeffrey G. Hansen Water Recycling Plant and $10.9 million to build the needed distribution infrastructure.

The feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

The source of the $150,000 grant is the WaterSMART Program, which is part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program. Reclamation awarded nine grants Monday in three western states: California, Oklahoma, and Texas.