FPUD to lease indirect potable reuse pilot treatment equipment from Intuitech

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

A pilot test will be conducted on the Fallbrook Public Utility District's planned indirect potable reuse project, and Intuitech will be leasing the pilot treatment equipment to FPUD.

FPUD's board voted 5-0 Oct. 25 to authorize a $370,450 agreement with Intuitech for the lease of the equipment. The pilot project will determine the best treatment process as well as the feasibility of utilizing reclaimed water to augment groundwater in the Lower Santa Margarita River basin.

FPUD and Camp Pendleton currently discharge approximately 2.6 million gallons per day of treated water into the Pacific Ocean through the Oceanside Outfall. "We have a lot more water than customer demand and we have had challenges finding additional customers," said FPUD senior engineer Aaron Cook.

The Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project constructed facilities to convey water from the Santa Margarita River basin, so it is possible that water undergoing tertiary treatment could also be stored in the groundwater basin and later extracted and treated to potable water standards. "The facilities that supply the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use water could be utilized for recycled potable water as well," Cook said.

The current discharge total would equate to approximately 3,000 acre-feet per year if feasibility studies and permits lead to construction of an indirect potable reuse project. Effluent would be diverted to the existing Upper Ysidora percolation plant and infiltrated into the groundwater basin. The feasibility study will also determine the amount of water the Rainbow Municipal Water District could obtain; a December 2019 memorandum of understanding added Rainbow's participation in the feasibility study.

"This is a joint project between Camp Pendleton, Rainbow, and FPUD to pursue further expanding of local water supplies and decrease our need to purchase more expensive imported water supplies," said FPUD General Manager Jack Bebee.

The state's Department of Water Resources has a grant program for Integrated Regional Water Management projects, and in July 2020 DWR awarded $15 million in grant funding to the San Diego County Water Authority, which will administer the grants for the agencies actually receiving the funding. FPUD was awarded a $687,500 IRWM grant for the indirect potable reuse pilot project. The actual grant funding was received in June 2021.

Originally FPUD and Camp Pendleton planned two pilot facilities: one at FPUD's water reclamation plant which would be designed for live action discharge to Fallbrook Creek and one at Camp Pendleton's Southern Region Tertiary Treatment Plant which would convey treated water to the percolation ponds. Conveyance expenses caused FPUD to scrap the pilot testing site in Fallbrook.

"We decided we could move forward more quickly and easily by using the existing infrastructure at Camp Pendleton because it is a more straightforward project to construct and permit," Bebee said.

A request for proposals to provide equipment resulted in two responses by the Aug. 26 deadline, although the proposal from Xylem did not include all requested treatment processes. Although Intuitech was the sole responsive bidder, FPUD staff recommended awarding the contract. "Their proposal was comprehensive and within budget," Bebee said.

Intuitech provides on-site commissioning and training services, so FPUD will assemble and operate the equipment. The pilot system is expected to be installed and commissioned in late February and operated for four months. A final report with a conceptual design for a full-scale project and a financial feasibility analysis will follow the pilot testing.

The $370,450 contract award amount does not include internal staff costs which are estimated at $190,000.