SPREAD
SPREAD ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR WATER WILL COME FROM
?YOU PROBABLY KNOW MUCH OF IT
COMES FROM THE COLORADO RIVER
AND LOCAL RESERVOIRS BUT
THERE'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT
COMING OUT OF YOUR TAP. THERE
ARE ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES
AND TECHNOLOGIES SUPPLYING SAN
DIEGO'S H2O RIGHT NOW WITH MORE
COMING DOWN THE PIPE. THE
CARLSBAD DESALINATION PLANT
WENT ONLINE ABOUT SIX YEARS AGO
TURNING SEAWATER INTO TAPWATER.
HOW MUCH DID THIS PLANT COST?
SO IT'S OUT IT'S ONE BILLION
DOLLAR PROGRAM. RIGHT. THIS
PLANT ITSELF TO CONSTRUCT WAS A
LITTLE OVER FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY
MILLION DOLLARS. THIS IS A
PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
DECIDED THE COMPANY THAT BUILT
AND RUNS THE PLANT BRUNT OF THE
COSTS AND THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY
WATER AUTHORITY AGREED TO BUY
THE WATER. FIFTY MILLION
GALLONS A DAY, 10 PERCENT
OF THE REGION'S SUPPLY. IF THEY
DON'T DELIVER WE DON'T PAY.
THIS IS ARE WE ARE WE BUILT A
TEN MILE PIPELINE TO THE EAST
AND THIS IS WHERE IT CONNECTED
TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. IT'S NOT
LOCALIZED HERE ON THE COAST.
THE PLANTS HERE WE NEED ACCESS
TO THE OCEAN WATER SO THAT'S
WHY IT'S HERE. BUT EVERYBODY
NINETY FIVE PERCENT OF THE
COMMUNITY IN SAN DIEGO GETS
DESALINATED WATER DESALINATION
ISN'T NEW BUT THE PLANT IS
STATE OF THE ART. THE PROCESS
THAT WE USE HERE REVERSE
OSMOSIS WAS ACTUALLY STARTED IN
RESEARCH HERE IN SAN DIEGO
COUNTY. SO IT BEGAN HERE AND I
BELIEVE IN THE NINETEEN
SEVENTIES WOULD HAVE NO IDEA
THAT THIS WAS ANYTHING
DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING ELSE
YOU GET FROM YOU TAP THE NEED
FOR ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES
IN SAN DIEGO CRYSTALLIZED IN
THE EARLY 90S DROUGHT FORCED
SIGNIFICANT WATER CUTBACKS HERE
WE JUST DON'T HAVE A
SIGNIFICANT LOCAL WATER SUPPLY
AND HAVE TO GET MOST OF OUR
WATER FROM THE COLORADO RIVER
SO WE REALLY HAVE TO BE
CREATIVE. WE HAVE TO BE
INNOVATIVE AND WE ALWAYS NEED
TO BE LOOKING FOR WHERE WE CAN
ACCESS THAT WATER SUPPLY AND
BECOME MORE RESILIENT HERE
LOCALLY AND WITHIN OUR REGION.
THE NEWEST SOURCE OF WATER IN
THE REGION IS A LITTLE NORTH
OF CARLSBAD. WE HAVE A VERY
EXCITING PROJECT FOR THE CITY
OF OCEANSIDE. IT IS THE FIRST
PORTABLE REAX PROJECT IN THE
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO THAT WILL
BE OUT IT TAKES WASTEWATER
THAT'S BEEN TREATED AND PUTS IT
THROUGH A SERIES
OF PURIFICATION STEPS BEFORE
BEING INJECTED INTO THE
GROUNDWATER AQUIFER FOR FURTHER
TREATMENT AND TO ANSWER BEFORE
YOU ASK NO, THE WATER WON'T
TASTE ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT
YOU'RE USED TO. WOW. I'D SAY
HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TELL THE
DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU GO TO
DISNEYLAND AND DRINK THE WATER
THERE? THEY'RE USING THE SAME
PURIFICATION PROCESS. THEY'RE
PURE WATER. OCEANSIDE IS ON THE
NORTHERN EDGE OF THE CITY. IT'S
BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR ABOUT
SEVEN YEARS PURE WATER
OCEANSIDE WILL BE ONLINE AT THE
END OF TWENTY TWENTY ONE WITH
WATER BEING DELIVERED TO
CUSTOMERS IN MID TWENTY TWENTY
TWO AND SHOULD HAVE THE DROUGHT
CONTINUING THE PROJECT TIMING
COULDN'T BE ANY BETTER THIS
SITE TAKES IN WASTEWATER WHICH
GOES THROUGH A RIGOROUS PROCESS
THAT INCLUDES ULTRA FILTRATION.
IT'S REMOVING THINGS THAT ARE
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TIMES
SMALLER THAN A HUMAN HAIR
100000 TIMES SMALLER. THEY'RE
VERY SMALL AND A BONUS. THE
MUSCLE OF THIS PLANT IS MADE IN
OCEANSIDE, THE ULTRA FILTRATION
SYSTEM AS WELL AS REVERSE
OSMOSIS TANKS ARE MADE BY LOCAL
COMPANY HYDRONAUTICS. SOME
OF THE PROCESS IS BASICALLY THE
SAME AS THE DESALINATION PLANT
BUT FOR OBVIOUS REASONS THERE'S
MORE WORK TO BE DONE HERE. SO
THIS IS OUR DISINFECTION
PROCESS HERE. IT'S ULTRAVIOLET
LIGHT AND AFTER ALL THAT WORK
AT THIS PLANT THEY THEN SEND
THE WATER INTO THE MISSION
BASIN AQUIFER. IT'S GOING INTO
THE GROUND AND TRAVELING
THROUGH THE GROUND FOR THREE TO
SIX MONTHS BEFORE WE EXTRACT IT
AND TREAT IT. SO IT IS QUITE A
BIT LONGER THAN SOME OF THE
OTHER TYPICAL PROCESSES THAT WE
USE IN WATER TREATMENT. THIS
STATE OF THE ART PROGRAM SERVES
CITY OF OCEANSIDE CUSTOMERS.
ITS PRICE TAG IS SEVENTY
MILLION DOLLARS BUT THEY OFFSET
SOME OF THAT WITH STATE AND
FEDERAL GRANTS ULTIMATELY PURE
WATER WILL SUPPLY OCEANSIDE
WITH THIRTY PERCENT OF ITS
WATER. THIS IS THE NEW THING.
THIS IS THE NEW NEW FOR WATER.
THESE ALTERNATIVE SOURCES
AREN'T CHEAP . SAN DIEGO HAS
PAID SOME OF THE HIGHEST RATES
IN THE STATE AND COUNTRY. BUT
WHILE OTHER REGIONS APPROACH
WATER CRISIS, THE SAN DIEGO
WATER AUTHORITY IS CONTINUING
TO FLOW IN IN SAN DIEGO WHERE A
FEW STEPS AHEAD BUT WE WANT TO
KEEP DRIVING THAT AND KEEP
MAKING SURE THAT SAN DIEGO HAS
THE WATER TO SUPPORT OUR
LIFESTYLE, TO SUPPORT OUR
ECONOMY AND MOVE FORWARD. WE
REALLY NEED TO BE PLANNING FOR
AND MOVING INTO CONSTRUCTION ON
THESE PROJECTS ALL THE TIME,
NOT JUST WHEN DROUGHT IS HERE.
THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER
AUTHORITY SAYS ITS PLANS MEAN
WE'RE DROUGHT SAFE UNTIL AT
LEAST TWENTY FORTY FIVE AND
JUST PURE WATER. OCEANSIDE IS
THE FIRST ADVANCED WATER
PURIFICATION PROGRAM IN THE
COUNTY BUT TWO OTHERS ARE
COMING, ONE IN THE CITY OF SAN
DIEGO, THE OTHER TO EAST COUNTY