Antioch’s $160 million desalination plant begins operation in bid to boost city water supply

ANTIOCH Antioch has decisively turned on the taps of its long-awaited brackish water desalination plant which is expected to help the city safeguard its water supply for decades to come The million facility hailed by city leaders as a milestone in California s water sustainability efforts will meet up to of Antioch s water demands Residents and businesses use up to million gallons of water daily in the winter and million in the summer With the plant in arrangement the city can treat and convert into drinking water about million gallons a day of brackish water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta Water therapy plant Superintendent Marcus Woodland left presses a start button at the city s new Brackish Water Rehabilitation Plant on Monday Sept in Antioch Calif The plant is designed to supply up to of Antioch s drinking water using energy-efficient low-waste system to treat brackish water from the Delta Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Related Articles Letters Renewed empathy could heal country s divisions Opinion Newsom must protect California s drinking water from microplastics Wildfire threats to California water guidance demand attention group warns EBMUD adopts new UV light tool to combat water quality threats Spirit of optimism as Richardson Bay restoration progresses The city has already been pumping as much water as feasible from the river however because of an increase in saltwater levels over the years it has been unable to do so during the summer and fall To fill the gap Antioch purchases more expensive water from the Contra Costa Water District to fulfill the demands of particular of its residents This project not only provides critical supplies for Antioch s soundness and safety necessities during severe drought but also improves drought supplies for our neighboring communities and members of the Contra Costa Water District Mayor Ron Bernal revealed at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday He hailed the completed project as the largest infrastructure capital in the city s history This vast undertaking represents nine years and over million of state financing complete extensive environmental studies and federal and state permits to protect endangered and threatened species Bernal noted The desalination plant project broke ground in with Gov Gavin Newsom in attendance The governor revealed the plant was part of his plan to help California overcome worsening droughts and water shortages because of surroundings change through an array of new desalination plants reservoirs and recycled water projects State agents have estimated California s water supply could be reduced by up to by due to hotter and drier weather State Water Support Control Board Chairman E Joaquin Esquivel noted that with drought a constant threat California cities need to be prepared for the future State Senator Timothy Green right speaks during a ceremony at a new Brackish Water Therapy Plant on Monday Sept in Antioch Calif The plant is designed to supply up to of Antioch s drinking water using energy-efficient low-waste hardware to treat brackish water from the Delta Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group We have th-century laws with th-century infrastructure challenges Esquivel commented This is an example of the st-century infrastructure that we are going to need to help secure this neighborhood s access to water for decades to come Located south of Highway the desalination facility is within the current water medication plant area It includes a -mile pipeline from the plant to the Delta Diablo Wastewater Therapy plant where the remaining brine from the desalination a process of removing minerals and salts from water to produce purified water by pushing water at a high pressure through a reverse osmosis membrane is sent and discharged to the river Among those joining city councilmembers for Monday s ceremony were State Sen Tim Grayson Assemblymember Anamarie Avila Farias Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis and Brentwood Mayor Susannah Meyer Grayson also praised city bureaucrats for having the foresight to collaborate with local regional and state agencies You were able to bring information you were able to bring apparatus you were able to bring the partnerships together to eventually get something done for Californians California and this part of the Bay Area so thank you very much for your tenacity Grayson reported After being conceived in the s the desalination plant got a huge boost in when California water authorities awarded the project million from Proposition the state water bond passed in Other funding included a million low-interest loan from the State Water Support Control Board s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund million from a state Department of Water Support settlement agreement regarding water rights and from Antioch s Water Enterprise Fund Bernal mentioned the new plant will benefit Antioch not only as a reliable and affordable water source but also as an engine for increase It will benefit the city when we attract businesses and industries that depend on an uninterrupted source of water he described Bay Area News Group especially during severe drought conditions A drone view of the new desalination plant on Putnam Street in Antioch Calif on Thursday Jan Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group A drone view of the new desalination plant on Putnam Street in Antioch Calif on Thursday Jan The nearly -million brackish desalination plant is expected to start operating within the next minimal months Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group A drone view of the new desalination plant in a residential area near Putnam Street in Antioch Calif on Thursday Jan The nearly -million brackish desalination plant is expected to start operating within the next scarce months Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group Water pipelines at the new Brackish Water Therapy Plant on Monday Sept in Antioch Calif The plant is designed to supply up to of Antioch s drinking water using energy-efficient low-waste apparatus to treat brackish water from the Delta Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group