Wastewater Recycling

After years of research, advocacy, and legal action, San Diego Coastkeeper, along with our environmental partners at CERF, Surfrider Foundation San Diego, and San Diego Audubon Society, signed a cooperative agreement with the City of San Diego obligating the City to implement the region’s first large-scale wastewater recycling project. By the full completion date in 2035, the Pure Water project will provide 83 million gallons of locally-sourced drinking water per day, meeting nearly one-third of San Diego’s drinking water needs. Additionally, this multi-benefit project will result in a substantial reduction in partially-treated wastewater discharges into the ocean, serving to protect the health and water quality of our coastal waters. In the meantime, Phase I of the project is scheduled to bring 15 million gallons per day of safe, clean, sustainable water to San Diego households by 2022. Inspired by the ongoing success of the project, other water agencies across the region and state are actively researching potable reuse projects of their own. To learn more about Coastkeeper’s involvement with the Pure Water project, check out our page on multi-benefit water management.