Story and Photos By Jondi Gumz
Some doubted this small agency serving Aptos, La Selva Beach, Opal Cliffs, Rio Del Mar, Seascape, Soquel, and parts of Capitola could pull off this big a project, but yes, indeed, on Oct. 3, the Soquel Creek Water District unveiled its completed $180 million water purification center.
Melanie Mow Schumacher (center), Soquel Creek Water District general manager, flashes a victory sign.
For Melanie Mow Schumacher, who has been with Soquel Creek Water District for 20 years and is now general manager, this was a day of celebration. Finally, a solution to seawater intrusion was at hand.
She called it “a momentous turning point in our work to preserve and protect the precious local groundwater.”
She expects this plant will bring “a new, drought-resistant and reliable supply of clean, pure water to the community we serve, that will help prevent further seawater contamination of our sole source of drinking water.”
About 200 people attended, federal, state and local officials, the builder and subcontractors, curious employees of neighboring water purveyors and even neighbors.
The promise is that this plant — by purifying wastewater with ozone to destroy bacteria, ultrafiltration to remove particulates, bacteria, protozoa and some viruses, reverse osmosis to remove pharmaceuticals, pesticides, personal care products and PFAS forever chemicals and ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide to disinfect and remove any remaining organic compounds.
The water then is re-mineralized and the pH is raised to match the existing groundwater. Then it’s pumped to three strategically located wells, where the purified water is pumped into the ground water to replenish the aquifer, the sole source of drinking water for 40,000 people. As water level rise, this creates a barrier to prevent salty ocean water from moving inland.
This is important because saltwater contamination of the groundwater has been verified at several locations.
Notice what can be removed.
- Pharmaceuticals — which is huge because an estimated 66% of Americans take prescription drugs. Standard water treatment plants do not have the capability to remove pharmaceuticals.
- Pesticides — conventional wastewater treatment technologies are generally not effective at removing pesticides, which most people do not want to ingest.
- PFAS Forever Chemicals — They are deemed carcinogenic The State Water Resources Control Board is studying this problem. Current water treatment technologies are unable to destroy PFAS, so if recycled water is using for irrigation and treated sewage sludge is used by farmers as fertilizer, that water and fertilizer will likely contain PFAS forever chemicals.
Schumacher said the construction cost $140 million, and design, permitting and buying the land added $40 million.
In 2014, the Mid-County Groundwater Basin that supplies Soquel Creek Water District’s 16,000 connections was designated by the state as “critically over drafted.”
Rainfall would naturally replenish the groundwater but Santa Cruz County has had many drought years.
That has put Soquel Creek Water district in a ‘Groundwater Emergency’ and “Stage 3 Water Shortage Emergency” every year since.
District staff were dogged in their search for state and federal grants. The results:
- $87 million in grants and low-interest loans from the California State Water Resources Control Board
- $30 million Title XVI grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
- Low-interest — 1.5% — loans from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act
Before the plant begins operation, “commissioning” is required — testing and verifying that a water treatment plant is designed, built, and installed correctly.
Schumacher expects plant operation to begin in December or January.
Is this new technology? It’s new to Santa Cruz County.
Jacobs, a Dallas company has a 10-year contract to operate the plant.
Howard Brewen of Paso Robles, regional general manager with Jacobs, said he manages 150 similar plants in North and South America.
What’s the Jacobs contract renewal rate?
Brewen answered, “98.5%.”
He said this plant will require fewer than 10 employees to run.
There’s a balance between being overstaffed, which costs the customer more, and understaffed, which could risk compliance issues.
Debby Burris, a civil engineer and president of DDB Engineering in Irvine, came. She worked on the project on a subcontract from Brown & Caldwell. She had experience helping Orange County get permits to build their water purification plant, which opened in 2008.
Lakeisha Bryant, public relations representative with Santa Clara Valley Water District drove over the hill at the invitation of Becca Gold Rubin, whose columns on Soquel Creek Water District appear in Aptos Times.
Kyle Graff, a 2017 UC Berkeley chemical engineering grad who works for the state water board, was curious. He lives in Soquel.
Also represented: Employees of Pure Water Monterey, which began operating in February 2020 after seven years, with an expansion project to be finished by 2025.
The celebration, which took place on a sunny morning outside the new plant on Chanticleer Avenue, which is next to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Cars driven by guests filled the sheriff’s parking lot and spilled over into the nearby Staples parking lot.
Dignitaries praising the project:
Jimmy Panetta, member, U.S. House of Representatives
Mae Wu, deputy assistant administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water
Roque T. Sánchez, deputy commissioner, US Bureau of Reclamation
E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair, California State Water Resources Control Board
State Sen. John Laird
California Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin and Dawn Addis
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend
Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley
Former Soquel Creek Water District general manager Ron Duncan
Panetta said, “I’m proud that the federal government is focused on the safety and sustainability of our local water supply with a significant federal investment in the Soquel Creek Water advanced water purification center.”
Esquivel said, “Expanding water recycling projects beyond major cities is a critical component of California’s plan to protect its resources from a hotter and drier future. We are eager to support local leaders who are using water recycling as a tool to diversify their water supplies and build resilience amid climate change.”
Soquel Creek Board President Bruce Jaffe said, “Over the last 10 years our small district kept its focus on the big picture of providing a supplemental water supply to replenish our groundwater basin, for the benefit of the entire region.”
Schumacher thanked all the companies that worked on the project: design-builder Black & Veatch, design builder Garney Construction, BBK, Brown & Caldwell, Jacobs, ction, Kennedy Jenks, Trojan Technologies, ESA, HansonBridgett, Trussell, Xylem, Montgomey & Associates, Santa Cruz County Bank, Capital Edge, Gutierrez Consultants, and Data Instincts.
After the speeches, officials who have been involved and supportive of the project gathered to cut a giant blue ribbon to mark the completion of construction.
The theme was “Water Transformed,” and attendees had the opportunity to release dozens of Painted Ladies butterflies as a symbol of transformation.
The water district tells its story of facing a serious water problem and choosing purified water recharge in a 2022 mini documentary, “Beneath the Surface: The Journey of Water” (presented by the International Water Association and produced for the District and Black & Veatch by BBC StoryWorks).
Attendees were excited to be part of celebrating this history-making project. Many took selfies with an over-sized butterfly wing backdrop in the colors of the Pure Water Soquel butterfly logo.
A “swag bag” for attendees included custom socks in blue with a recycled pure water theme, designed by Soquel-based Merge4 headed by CEO Cindi Busenhart.
Ron Duncan, Schumacher’s predecessor, wore them to the celebration.