Water District Studying Simi-to-Pacific Pipeline

The water district serving most of east Ventura County has begun to study building a $50-million pipeline from Simi Valley to the Pacific Ocean that officials hope will improve the quality of water used by farmers, and open new and cheaper supplies of drinking water for residents.

The so-called brine line--the first of its kind in Ventura County--would help ensure reliable supplies of drinking water while complying with new federal mandates on salt content, district officials said.

Calleguas Municipal Water District officials said the 30-mile-long pipeline would carry salt discharges from yet-to-be-built treatment plants in east county. Those facilities could extract the salt from local ground water and creek water, said Don Kendall, Calleguas general manager. The line could also carry treated waste water from five sewage plants along Calleguas Creek, he said.

Money for the pipeline system would come mostly from federal and state sources, such as allocations from the recently passed Proposition 13. Fees paid by pipeline users could help pay for it too.