CWA approves
funding of recycled water retrofits
By Joe
Naiman
The Alpine Sun
The San Diego County Water Authority board authorized an
agreement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California to provide financial incentives to public agencies
for modifying irrigation plumbing to accept recycled water.
The SDCWA's Feb. 28 board approval authorizes an
agreement that will pass incentive funding to participating CWA
member agencies and the public agency customers of those member
agencies. The member agencies and their public agency customers
currently using potable water for irrigation purposes will be
responsible for retrofitting their systems to use recycled
water.
Each public agency site will be eligible for the lesser
of the actual retrofit costs or $500 per acre-foot multiplied by
the average annual water use over the previous three fiscal
years. Funding for sites with mixed-use meters will be based on
the lesser of $500 per acre-foot multiplied by the annual
average water use over the previous three fiscal years or $500
per acre-foot multiplied by the irrigated acreage times the
Evapotranspiration Index for San Diego County.
In August 2007, the MWD board established the
Accelerated Public Sector Water Efficiency Partnership
Demonstration Program that provides financial incentives to
public agencies for implementing immediate water efficiency
measures. MWD staff subsequently established the Public Sector
Recycled Water Retrofit Program to provide funding assistance
for recycled water retrofits. Eligible capital costs include
design, recycled water meters, piping, appurtenances, irrigation
system modifications, controls, and signage. Eligible customers
within the SDCWA service area include the County of San Diego
and the county's incorporated cities as well as any school
district, fire district, water district, healthcare district, or
other public agency.
MWD has not yet identified the public agency customers
that will receive funding through the program, and no specific
funding from the Accelerated Public Sector Water Efficiency
Partnership Demonstration Program has been directly ear-marked
for the Public Sector Recycled Water Retrofit Program. MWD
allocated a total of $15 million to the Accelerated Public
Sector Water Efficiency Partnership Demonstration Program.
The San Diego County Water Authority will not charge
its member agencies for staff time involved in administering the
recycled water retrofit program.
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