Reservoir will hold treated wastewater by next year

June Casagrande

The long-empty San Joaquin Reservoir is on its way to storing

reclaimed water, though it will take until the end of next year for

water to begin flowing in.

Irvine Ranch Water District officials have begun work to convert

the empty reservoir into a site that can store reclaimed water that

will ultimately go to irrigate places such as the Big Canyon Country

Club and the Newport Beach Country Club.

“It’s good news that it’s going to be filled,” Newport Beach Mayor

Tod Ridgeway said. “One thing it does is conserve water, and that’s

good for everyone.”

The storage space will prevent the water district from having to

discharge treated wastewater into the ocean while providing extra

water for irrigation, he said.

Defend the Bay spokesman Bob Caustin, whose group sued the

district over its original plan for filling the reservoir, said he’s

pleased that the work is underway. But he worried that it’s just a

temporary solution, as the area’s water consumption and the

district’s water storage needs will grow over time.

“We’re worried it’s a Band-Aid,” Caustin said.

Defend the Bay’s lawsuit forced the water provider to change

details of its plans for storing water. At the time, the district had

planned to store chlorine gas on the site for treating the water.

They were also worried that the highly volatile chlorine gas would

have to be transported through residential areas and past two

elementary schools.

The water district has since decided to use a dry form of chlorine

that is much less volatile, he said.

The water that will be stored in the reservoir is wastewater that

will have undergone what are known as primary and secondary

treatments. This treatment makes the water safe for exposure to

humans, but not suitable for drinking, experts say. The water will be

used for irrigation in a number of places that already use this

“reclaimed,” or treated wastewater, for irrigation, including a

number of local golf courses.