As the drought drags on, South Coast agencies are scrambling to lay the groundwork for a potable water supply that may one day be the region’s largest, after Lake Cachuma: purified and recycled wastewater.
For the past 25 years, a small amount of wastewater from sinks, tubs and toilets has been treated and sprayed on the turf at golf courses, schools and parks in Santa Barbara and the Goleta Valley – fewer than 100 sites overall. It’s not suitable for drinking, but it keeps the grass green.
The rest of the South Coast wastewater stream – about 11 million gallons per day – is treated, piped offshore and dumped into the ocean. But why waste a supply that can be turned into drinking water? officials are asking now. Even after a wet winter, Cachuma is only half full. Future allocations from the lake will likely be significantly reduced because of siltation and mandatory downstream releases. And it could take 10 years to recharge the local groundwater basins, now at historical lows.