Did you know that up to 90 percent of San Diego County's drinking water can come from hundreds of miles away? Water is indeed a scarce resource in our beautiful but drought affected county, which is why it is so important that Sweetwater Authority has access to reliable local water sources from both ground water and reservoirs which have provided its customers with over half the water used in recent decades. 

As leader in the water industry, the Authority prides itself in ensuring that customers and local businesses have a drought-resistant supply of water that can accommodate growth. The Authority's own Richard. A Reynolds Desalination Facility, which opened in 1999, recently completed an expansion that added 5 new wells to bring the total to 11 wells that can produce 10 million gallons of water per day, up from 5 million gallons of water per day that the plant was producing before the expansion. The facility provides Authority customers with drought-proof water supply  that produces enough water for 18,000 families, costs less than purchased water and uses less energy than imported water. In order to remove the salt, minerals and impurities from groundwater and make it safe for residents to use, Sweetwater Authority uses a process known as desalination. Traditionally used for ocean water, the process is also suitable for purifying brackish groundwater and because brackish groundwater is typically less salty than ocean water less energy is needed to produce clean drinking water. Through the process of reverse osmosis treatment, the water is forced through membranes at high pressure to remove salts, bacteria and other contaminants.

Desalination is traditionally energy intensive, which can increase greenhouse gas emissions but to address this issue Sweetwater Authority installed 2,950 ground mounted solar PV panels that will produce 905 kilowatts of clean energy and offset the energy required to produce the water! So if you are in the Sweetwater district know that when you turn on the tap, you are getting a little ray of sunshine in that glass of water.

If you would like to learn more you can visit the Sweetwater Authority website here  or head down and check out the work they are doing at the facility on Tuesday, May 22 when they will be hosting an open house. The facility is located at 3066 N.Second Avenue, Chula Vista. It will be open from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. You will have an opportunity to see the plant and to learn more about Authority.