ISD's Residential Recycled Water Fill Station is hosting a Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 10 am to 2 pm to say thank your to our recycled water users who helped save more than 10 million gallons of California's drinking water since ISD opened the Residential Recycled Water Fill Station in June 2015.
Stop by for a hot dog, chips and a drink. Don't forget to bring along your recycled water container for a fill up to water your gardens, plants and trees.
The importance of water as one of California’s most precious resources was brought home last summer when local residents were asked to reduce usage by 28 percent amid a relentless drought. By far, the greatest use of water during the hottest months of the year is through irrigation, whether for watering lawns, trees, gardens, orchards or controlling dust.
While ISD doesn’t have the means to pump its recycled water to customers just yet, in late June of 2015 the district opened a recycled water fill station and encouraged local residents to take up to 300 gallons per visit.
PILOT PROJECT GROWS
Operating under strict state restrictions for how recycled water can be dispersed, the program started as a pilot project with just eight hoses and opening just three days a week. The district rented a 21,000-gallon tank with the idea that staff could fill the tank as needed throughout the day. One tank quickly turned into two tanks as the weather grew warmer, and with so many people waiting on line to fill their 300-gallon containers, more hoses and faster pumps were soon needed to keep the line moving quickly.
By early July 2015 it was evident that to keep up with public demand and save money on staff time the district would need to come up with a more efficient way to deliver recycled water to the pumps and more space to store it.
PIPELINE HELPS EXPAND HOURS
By the end of July 2015 staff began working out a plan to build a pipeline that would send water directly from ISD’s Water Recycling Facility to the fill station. The process took several weeks to complete, but the result was worth the effort.
Adding the pipeline helped the recycled water service evolve from a pilot project to an ongoing benefit for ratepayers. Opening the pipeline created speedier access and more reliable supplies for fill station customers and allowed the district to expand hours of operation to six days a week by late August. Not only did this save time for ISD staff, but also the larger capacity pump cut minutes off how long customers needed to fill their tanks.
From late June to the end of September 2015, the fill station gave away over 3 millions gallons to mostly Oakley residents. Even though the weather has turned cooler, users have asked for the service to continue this fall and winter which the district did, lower the amount of days open to three days a week.
To add to the 3 million gallons saved by residents, local businesses and contractors helped to bring the total of saved water to over 10 million gallons. These users were able to use ISD's recycled water for dust control on several construction projects.
This past spring the Fill Station opened again five days a week and in June expanded evening and weekend hours.
Despite the fact that water restrictions have been eased by Oakley's Diablo Water District, members of the community have continued to actively use ISD's recycled water in an effort to continue to save California's Drinking Water.
ISD is hosting the Residential Recycled Water Fill Station Customer Appreciation Day to thank recycled water users for continuing to use this valuable service as a means to help conserve California's drinking water.