Recycled water for school playgrounds?

An informational open house will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.|

An informational open house will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the Sonoma Valley High School library for the community to learn about plans to construct a $3 million recycled water pipeline to provide landscape irrigation to the Sonoma Unified School District. 

Members of the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s project team will be on hand to answer questions and receive input from the community. Additionally, the community is invited to attend a tour of the Sanitation District at 22675 Eighth St. E., from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, for a look at Sonoma Valley’s recycled water treatment system.

The recycled water pipeline project has been recommended to receive $1.02 million in state Proposition 84 grant funding. Project design, permitting and agreements are scheduled for 2015, and project construction is expected to start in 2016. The Sanitation District anticipates that recycled water delivery could start as early as winter 2016/17.

“Recycled water is a sustainable supply of water that can keep playing fields green even in drought conditions,” said Sonoma County Water Agency Director Susan Gorin. “Purchasing local recycled water will reduce the cost of water for both the school district and the City of Sonoma, and decrease the amount of energy used to transport the water, which currently comes all the way from the Russian River.”

The Sanitation District is proposing to construct a recycled water pipeline in collaboration with the school district to provide recycled water to Sonoma Valley High, Adele Harrison Middle and Prestwood Elementary schools. The recycled water may also be used to offset irrigation at the city of Sonoma’s Engler Street Park, and there will be an opportunity for agricultural users along the pipeline route to connect to the system.

“Recycled water is already used at about 400 parks, playgrounds and schools in California,” said school Superintendent Louann Carlomagno. “Using recycled water to irrigate playing fields is a safe and sustainable way to save an estimated $60,000 each year between the three schools.”

“Using recycled water instead of potable water for irrigation helps the City of Sonoma conserve potable water and improves the reliability of our water supply,” said Dan Takasugi, Public Works Director/City Engineer for the City of Sonoma. “We wish recycled water could reach more large irrigated locations in the City of Sonoma, but the infrastructure costs are very large. This project touches some of the City’s largest irrigated areas for the least cost.”

The Sanitation District, which is managed by the Sonoma County Water Agency, currently provides recycled water for agricultural irrigation in Sonoma Valley and supplies recycled water for restoration of salt marshes along the Napa-Sonoma County border.

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