High-Tech Facility to Clean Water for Port Hueneme

Port Hueneme residents and officials agree on at least one thing--the city’s tap water is vile. But that soon may change.

“It’s the worst water I’ve tasted anywhere,” said Douglas Breeze, Port Hueneme’s public works manager. “When I take a shower, the water literally stinks. Almost everyone here is doing something to their water because it tastes so bad.”

The city, in cooperation with the Channel Islands Beach Community Services District and the county’s two military bases, plans to build a water-treatment plant so high-tech it will serve as a national research center, officials say.

Project officials are about to sign a deal with three local water agencies to supply the $12.4-million facility, which is expected to be in operation by September, 1996.

The move will lead to an increase in water rates for Port Hueneme residents, from an average of about $10 a month to about $20. But officials said that with the new plant, residents can toss their water softeners, save on appliance repairs and stop buying bottled water, making water cheaper.

“People in this part of Ventura County spend as much as $50 a month on [devices] and bottled water, which folks will be able to avoid,” said Gerard Kapuscik, general manager of the Channel Islands district. “The project is extremely cost-effective and efficient and will yield long-term savings for customers in excess of the rate increases.”

A pipeline now pumps water to Port Hueneme and Point Mugu from wells operated by the United Water Conservation District. Channel Islands Beach and the Port Hueneme Navy base get their water from coastal wells that are subject to seawater intrusion.

Although it’s considered safe to drink, the water is hard and tastes bad because of its high mineral content. Hard water is cloudy and hastens the corrosion of plumbing fixtures and appliances.

The water “looks and tastes awful,” said Breeze, who has been instrumental in planning the water treatment project. “Also, a normal water heater lasts 15 to 20 years. My housing tract is 5 years old and people are already replacing their water heaters.”

The project will hook the pipeline carrying United water to the new facility and build a pipeline that would allow first-rate Metropolitan Water District water to be blended with the treated water. The project will also use water from the Calleguas Water District.

When completed, officials said the project will provide more than 40,000 customers with 3.9 million gallons a day of water that are three times cleaner than the current supply.

“We will have the best, cleanest water, probably in the country,” Port Hueneme Mayor Toni Young said.

Officials said they’re expecting some residents to grouse about higher water rates. But they said the price of water still would climb--and the water supply would shrink--without the new plant, since the county Groundwater Management Agency is calling for water districts to reduce pumping by 25% by 2010.

Port Hueneme residents, whose rates after the increase would still remain among the lowest of Ventura County cities, said they will make sacrifices for better water.

“The water now is really, really minerally,” said Gwen Kemp, 64. “If I could do away with my water purifier and my water softener at a small price, sure.”

Ramona Mills, 32, said that the city’s water tastes so bad, she tries to drink bottled water.

“If the water tasted a little better, I’d drink it,” Mills said. “I wouldn’t mind paying a little more.”

The project will be paid for in part with funds Port Hueneme has set aside for capital improvement projects, as well as a $2-million federal grant, officials say.

Local officials said Congress has agreed to open the federal purse for the project because the facility would be the first of its kind in the nation, allowing water industry experts across the country to obtain data on different treatment technologies.

The plant will treat water using three different methods. Both reverse osmosis and nano-filtration involve filtering out minerals by forcing water through membranes. The third, electrodialysis, introduces an electric current in the water, causing minerals and other substances to separate.

“The whole purpose of this plant is to provide a whole-scale demonstration of these technologies,” said Lynn Takaichi, a vice president with Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, the environmental engineering firm hired by the Port Hueneme Water Agency. “It is going to be quite an advance for the water industry.”

The plant will be built on three acres off Pleasant Valley Road. Bids on the project will go out in November.

Breeze said the dealings among the partners have been harmonious.

“Mark Twain said whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over,” Breeze said. “I’m amazed at the congenial atmosphere among all the agencies that are putting this together.”