Valley Irrigation System Will Use Recycled Water

Los Angeles city officials are laying the groundwork for a system to pump recycled water across the San Fernando Valley to irrigate parks, golf courses and other greenery while saving potable water.

The plan, which calls for the installation of pipes along the length of a 14-mile busway from North Hollywood to Woodland Hills, will revive the $50-million East Valley Recycled Water Project.

In 2001, the facility was about a week from opening when a sudden public outcry over fears of recycling water from “toilet to tap” caused city officials to halt the project.

Officials said the system, which would have allowed recycled water from the Tillman Reclamation Plant at Sepulveda Basin to seep into underground aquifers to mix with the general water supply, would have provided safe water for drinking. But it became controversial when a mayoral candidate raised it as a campaign issue and inflamed public emotions.

“It’s actually a very high-quality water, but when you use the word ‘toilet’ people say ‘Ugh! I don’t want to touch it!’ ” said Jerry Gewe, assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, explaining that even the Colorado River -- a major source of water for the Southland -- carries recycled water discharged by Nevada.

Under the new plan, recycled water will be pumped from the Tillman plant for industrial use and irrigation only, and will not go into the drinking water supply, Gewe said.

To save on construction costs, the pipes will be laid during the building of the busway. Work on a small section of the pipeline has already begun, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Officials could not provide the total cost or a completion date for the project, but said it would probably open about the same time as the bus corridor in August 2005.

The original project received nearly $40 million in federal and state money, Gewe said. Because the new project will put the already-built water-treatment system to use, the city will not have to return the funds.

Eventually, the project should pump 10,000 acre-feet of water a year. Although that will provide only a fraction of the city’s annual 600,000 acre-feet of water usage, it should help the region become less dependent on other, limited water sources, local and federal officials said.

Gerald A. Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino and a member of the city’s Integrated Waste Water Program steering committee, said the project should be an asset for the Valley. “If they find uses for the recycled water, more power to them,” Silver said.