Started at the HARRF in the Fall of 1998, Phase I Construction is a major rehabilitation of existing facilities and will improve secondary treatment efficiency. Phase II Construction, completed in 2001, adds tertiary treatment capability to create high quality water production for reuse as irrigation on local golf courses, parks, school grounds, green belts, roadway medians, open spaces and industrial use. Phase III Construction, currently being designed, will include a replacement administration building and a rebuild of the influent pump station and the primary treatment building.
Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility (HARRF) includes roughly 360 miles of pipelines and 14 pumping station which serve as the sanitary collection system backbone to direct this community’s domestic & industrial wastewater to it’s treatment plant, the HARFF.
View the Early Phase Overview for the Reuse Program
Overview Map
The MFRO facility will receive HARRF Title 22 recycled water. HARRF has a permitted wastewater treatment capacity of 18 mgd and 9 mgd tertiary capacity. The plant uses conventional activated sludge for secondary treatment and includes the following major processes: influent pump station, bars screens, grit chambers, primary clarifiers; aeration basins, secondary clarifiers; tertiary filters and chorine disinfection. Historical water quality of HARRF recycled water is provided in Table 2-1 attached.
The Feasibility Study discussed water quality requirements for the City’s agriculture producers with a key focus on avocado production which is one of the most important crops grown in Escondido. The limits of various water quality parameters that can diminish avocado crop productivity are provided in Table 2-2. This information was obtained based on meetings with members of the Escondido Growers of Agriculture Preservation (EGAP) as well as published information in the literature. Based on discussions with EGAP, it is desired to reduce the chloride concentration to 80 mg/L to prevent leaf burn, root rot and the need for excessive flushing however chloride concentrations up to 100 mg/L can be tolerated. It should be noted historical water quality provided by the City shows the average chloride concentration in raw source water supplies varies as follows: Lake Henshaw = 39 mg/L; Dixon Lake = 80 mg/L; and imported water via SDCWA = 81 mg/L. The average chloride concentration of the treated water from EVWTP is 75 mg/L.
Meeting Mintues
May 14, 2015, the San Diego County Water Authority Board approved a supply allocation for customers paying the Transitional Special Agricultural Water Rate (TSAWR). These customers are most of Escondido’s commercial growers with more than 1 acre of agriculturally productive land (about 180 accounts). The allocation for TSAWR supply to Escondido for FY 2016 is 2,750 acre-feet. This allocation is 15% less than the deliveries during the baseline year (FY 2014).
At the end of FY 2016, the following penalties will be applied (per the SDCWA ordinance approved yesterday):
For deliveries between 100% and 115% of the allocation (2,750 acre-feet to 3,163 acre-feet), the penalty is $1,480 per acre-foot or $4.54 per 1,000 gallons.
For deliveries over 115% of the allocation (more than 3,163 acre-feet), the penalty is $2,960 per acre-foot or $9.08 per 1,000 gallons.
These are significant potential penalties, especially when compared to the rate Escondido Customers now pay for water ($1,079 per acre-foot or $3.31 per 1,000 gallons).
Link to San Diego County Water Authority Minutes of Special Board Meeting:
Meeting Mintues
Escondido Growers for Agricultural Preservation were pleased when the Escondido City Council unanimously voted in February against increases rates for agricultural water customers.
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The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), at their March 26, 2015 Board meeting, extended the current Transitional Special Agricultural Water Rate (TSAWR) through December 31, 2020. According to the Board’s action, if the TSAWR is uncontested in 2020 it will automatically be continued. “This decision is a culmination of ongoing efforts by the Commission and San Diego County Farm Bureau to advocate the benefits of maintaining the TSAWR to the County Water Authority,” said Charley Wolk, Commission Water Committee Chair. Two SDCWA Board members, Gary Arant, Valley Center Water District General Manager, and Bryan Brady, Fallbrook Public Utilities District General Manager, also played a critical role in the successful outcome through their resolute support of the program.
Continue ReadingThe County Water Authority goes to trial today in the second phase of a lawsuit against its giant water wholesaler, the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District. It’s dry stuff, highly technical. But it could be worth many millions for water agencies here. As important, it could result in major new water supplies for San Diego County.
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