Recycled Water Program

The City of Paso Robles is currently designing a recycled water distribution system that will serve irrigation demands in the City and will also allow regional recycled water use. Recycled water will benefit the City and regional users by providing a drought-resilient supplemental water supply that can be used to offset irrigation demands and contribute to sustainable use of groundwater.

About Recycled Water

Recycled water is a unique water supply because it is drought-resilient and can allow reduced use of other water supplies that are relied upon to provide potable water and other important uses. Recycled water is water that has been treated using specific processes to meet uniform statewide water recycling criteria and is safe for specific uses. The treatment and quality of recycled water is monitored closely to ensure the safety and suitability of recycled water for the uses being served.

Treatment Facilities

The City plans to use recycled water as a supplemental water supply to serve large irrigated landscape areas. The use of recycled water requires a treatment system to supply recycled water and a distribution system to deliver the water to use sites. New recycled water treatment facilities (tertiary treatment and disinfection) have been designed and are planned for construction beginning in 2017. These facilities will be located at the City’s municipal wastewater treatment plant and will produce high-quality tertiary disinfected recycled water. 

The first phase of the City’s recycled water distribution system is currently being designed and will make recycled water available to large centralized irrigation uses within the City like golf courses, parks, and commercial landscaping areas. The system will be expanded in the future to serve additional landscape uses in the City, agricultural irrigation, and to allow indirect use of recycled water.

Offsetting Irrigation Uses

The City’s first phase of the recycled water program will deliver recycled water to irrigate recreational fields, a golf course, and several landscaped areas within the City. Large, centralized turf and landscaped areas are the most cost-effective sites to serve in the first phase of the recycle water program. The recycled water distribution system will incorporate features that will allow expansion of the system as the city grows and allow future delivery or recycled water for additional irrigation uses. However, even when all existing and future irrigation demands within the City are accounted for, the City projects there will still be a large amount of recycled water available for other uses, like agricultural irrigation. By offsetting irrigation demands from a range of users that are currently served with groundwater, the recycled water system will contribute to the sustainable management of groundwater