Pipeline for Reclaimed Water Delayed : Conservation: Glendale’s project to sell treated sewage water for irrigation is postponed for a year so Los Angeles can join the system.

Construction of a pipeline to irrigate the grass at Forest Lawn with treated sewage has been delayed for a year so Los Angeles can join the project as part of its own water-saving effort.

The $1.5-million Glendale pipeline project, which was approved in 1989, was scheduled for completion this month. But Los Angeles asked Glendale to double the pipeline’s capacity as part of a long-range plan to use waste water at Elysian Park.

The change required negotiations between the two cities and revision of the pipeline design, which was 90% done, said Mike Hopkins, Glendale’s public service director. Los Angeles agreed to contribute $1 million.

Mindful of the drought, some Glendale officials are upset by the delay. It is particularly annoying, they say, because the reclaimed water is produced at a treatment plant half-owned by Glendale.

The output from the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant, on Colorado Street west of the Golden State Freeway, is not suitable for drinking. It can be used to cool industrial equipment and irrigate parks. Yet more than 18 million gallons a day goes down the Los Angeles River into the ocean.

“I am very distressed that we have not made more progress,” Glendale Councilman Jerold Milner said. “The potential for using all the reclaimed water we have is there. Every day that goes by, we’re missing the boat.”

Los Angeles officials said the Glendale project caught them off guard. “Glendale had made quite a bit of progress before we realized where they were at,” said Steve Ott, water-reclamation coordinator for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “There’s always a lot of talk about projects. We didn’t realize how serious Glendale was about this one.”

Forest Lawn buys almost 100 million gallons of tap water a year to irrigate 211 acres of landscaped terrain. To encourage large users to switch, Glendale will sell reclaimed water for 25% less than tap water.

The city also hopes to build a second pipeline to carry reclaimed water to Verdugo Park, Glendale Community College and Oakmont Country Club. That $6-million project is awaiting approval of a state loan subsidy, and completion may be four years away, officials said. The city is considering a third line to irrigate Brand Park.

Recycling proponents note that every gallon of reclaimed water put to use adds a gallon to the drinking water supply. Some experts think wider use of recycled water is inevitable.

“I think there’s a tremendously increased interest in it, mainly because reclaimed water is not subject to drought,” said Jeanne-Marie Bruno, reclaimed-water manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “There’s always going to be waste water.”

The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California but says these sources are insufficient. To stretch supplies, it has approved subsidies for 20 reclaimed-water projects, including Glendale’s.

Bruno said the demand for reclaimed water is strong, “but you have to get it to where it’s needed. The hang-up is that you need a dual-distribution system, and that’s very expensive to put in.”