FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Recycled Water to Be Used in Private Park

By May, a 22-acre private park is planned to be the next greenbelt in the city to be sprinkled with recycled water.

In an effort to conserve potable water supplies, the city has taken part in an Orange County Water District program to use recycled water for landscaped areas.

Currently, the Fountain Valley Recreation Center area of Mile Square Regional Park and the park’s golf course are irrigated with the reclaimed water. Plans are to hook up the David L. Baker Golf Center to the system by the end of the year.

Green Valley’s recreation area, on the north and south sides of Slater Avenue between Ward and Euclid streets, is owned and maintained by the Green Valley Homeowners’ Recreation Assn. The housing development, built more than 20 years ago, has 1,048 homes.

To get Green Valley’s irrigation system on-line with the recycled water program, the City Council this week approved spending up to $10,000 to install connecting pipelines, which are projected to cost $40,000. The council also decided to advertise the project for bids.

The water district will pay $30,000 of the construction cost, said Wayne S. Osborne, director of public works.

Osborne said the homeowners’ association has already spent $10,000 to make changes in the park’s existing irrigation system to allow the use of recycled water. Such work included disconnecting drinking fountains from the irrigation system and installing smaller sprinkler heads to avoid over-spray on sidewalks.

Osborne said the city’s initial $10,000 cost would be more than offset by projected annual revenue of about $12,000.

In addition, Osborne said recycled water reduces the demand for the city to buy potable water, which is more expensive.

Paula Moss, Green Valley’s recreation grounds and maintenance manager, said another advantage is that fertilizer is not needed with recycled water since it has nitrate, which is used as a fertilizer.