City of San Diego, California, USA – In Construction Reservoir Augmentation that will provide nearly half of San Diego’s water supply by 2035
San Diego relies on importing 85% of its water supply from the Colorado River and Northern California Bay Delta. With limited local control over its water supply, the City of San Diego is more vulnerable to droughts, climate change and natural disasters. With San Diego’s existing water system, only 8% of the wastewater leaving homes and businesses is recycled; the rest is treated and discharged into the ocean. The Pure Water San Diego program transforms the City’s water system into a complete water cycle that maximises our use of the world’s most precious resource—water.
Pure Water San Diego is currently in Phase 1 of construction, which will begin to provide Pure Water to customers in 2026. There are 10 major projects currently under construction in the Morena, Bay Park, Bay Ho, Clairemont, University City, Miramar and Scripps Ranch communities. The projects under construction as part of Phase 1 include the Morena Pump Station and Pipelines, the North City Water Reclamation Plant Expansion, the North City Pure Water Facility and Pump Station, the North City Pure Water Pipeline, and Metropolitan Biosolids Center improvements, as well as a subaqueous pipeline in the Miramar Reservoir.
Phase 2 is in the planning phase, expecting to include the San Vicente Reservoir, the Murray Reservoir, or both. Planning also includes the Central Area Water Reclamation Plant near the San Diego Airport, and the Central Area Pure Water Facility (advanced treatment) south of the San Diego State University West campus and the former Qualcomm Stadium, north of the Interstate-8. This will complete the project to provide nearly 50% of the City’s water supply by the end of 2035.
The Pure Water Demonstration Facility opened in 2011 to provide tours to the public and to continuously test the five treatment steps. Construction progress is currently limiting tour capacity, but the new North City Pure Water Facility and Pump Station will open in 2025. In addition to the water purification process buildings, this facility will also feature a new, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system) Silver Certified, 33,000 square foot operations and maintenance building with workspace and a Discovery Center for the community to learn more about Pure Water San Diego and our sustainable water future.