Program to Test Treatment Technologies for Colorado River Water
The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) in California has begun
construction on a pilot facility that will test several promising
technologies for treating imported Colorado River water for domestic
use, officials said on Oct. 16.
The feasibility of blending treated water with groundwater also will
be studied during the three-month process, since blending could lower
costs and improve treatment procedures, officials said. The treated
water produced on the 75-acre test site will not be distributed for
domestic or other uses.
Millions of Southern California residents have been drinking and
using treated Colorado River water in their homes and businesses for
nearly 80 years. Without it, the region would have run out of enough
water to sustain growth and development long ago, officials said.
Colorado River water was first imported into the Coachella Valley in
1949, but its use has been limited to irrigation, predominately
agriculture, and groundwater replenishment. Untreated water either is
delivered by an underground system from the 122-mile canal to farms and
a growing number of golf courses or diverted for groundwater recharge.
Consumers use this water source for drinking and other domestic uses
but only after it has been filtered through hundreds of feet of the
aquifer's natural filtration. The result is water (in most of the
valley) so pristine it needs minimal treatment to meet all federal and
state drinking water health standards, officials said.
Most of the construction on the testing facility will be performed
by CVWD personnel at an estimated cost of $250,000. Testing will begin
next month.
For more information, contact CVWD at http://www.cvwd.org.