Overview
   · Water Recycling FAQs

Water Recycling
Once is Never Enough

Why does the City Utilities Department think that the Water Reuse project is so important to this community? It reuses a local resource to meet a community need, it is high quality and safe, and it is cost-effective.

The City’s Water Reclamation Facility (wastewater treatment) produces a tertiary recycled water suitable for many uses. The facility began producing this high quality recycled water following the completion of an upgrade in 1994. The decision to install this high level of treatment in order to discharge to San Luis Obispo Creek was accompanied by a decision to include recycled water as a significant part of the City’s water supply.

The City’s Water Reuse Project will provide the pumps, pipeline, storage reservoirs needed to provide the separate, non-potable distribution system to deliver up to 1233 acre-feet of recycled water for irrigation and other approved uses. The tertiary recycled water produced by the City of San Luis Obispo is suitable for most uses other than swimming and drinking.

The Distribution system will be designed and constructed to deliver water to large landscaped areas including parks, playgrounds, street landscaping, common areas under the control of home owner associations and open space. While the recycled water is safe and suitable for all landscape irrigation, it will not be economical to provide service to individual residential lots.

At present, recycled water is used to irrigate the landscaping at the Water Reclamation Facility. The City is working with Cal Poly to develop and implement a master landscape plan for the Water Reclamation Facility which will demonstrate the successful use of recycled water with a wide variety of landscape materials.

San Luis Obispo has a pleasant Mediterranean climate. Water is a precious commodity in this semi-arid region. Water is in great demand to support habitat as well as to meet the needs of cities and agriculture. The City is dedicating a minimum daily discharge of 1.1 million gallons of recycled water to support habitat in San Luis Obispo Creek.