The City of Santa Monica continues to be a leader in moving toward water self-sufficiency, promoting water conservation, and reducing potable water use. During National Public Works Week, on May 23rd, the City will officially open the Los Amigos Park Stormwater Harvesting and Direct Use Demonstration Project, a collaboration with the Santa Monica-Malibu School District and the Metropolitan Water District (MWD). This project marks another first in infrastructure advancement. Los Amigos is the firstretrofit project to harvest offsite wet and dry weather runoff from an adjacent, existing storm drain for multiple beneficial uses, such as restroom toilet flushing and the irrigation of athletic fields. The project was financed by a grant from MWD and the Clean Beaches & Ocean Parcel Tax (Measure V).
This project taps into an existing storm drain line running under the street adjacent to the park and diverts stormwater (and dry weather flows between storm events) from the storm drain into a cistern. The water is stored, treated and used for the park irrigation system and indoor flushing.
This “new water” demonstration project brings a new water source into the system, water that would normally be sent to Santa Monica Bay either treated or untreated. The project offers another step towards the City’s plan for water self-sufficiency, another step tying into its long-term 2020 Sustainable Water Master Plan. The project is expected to save over 550,000 gallons of drinking water annually and protect the water quality of the Bay. It will provide results on design, installation, and operation, which will be relevant and transferable to other projects and help break down barriers to local water resource development.
More specifically, data on water volumes harvested, treated and used, and on water quality of influent and end-use water, will be collected and shared with watershed and water management professionals in government, academia, and business. The goal: demonstrate the multiple benefits of this local water resource harvesting strategy to meet local water needs; to reduce the use of unreliable, unsustainable, and more expensive imported water; and to reduce water pollution to a local water body and help meet Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
The event will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 10:30am – 11:30am at Los Amigos Park (adjacent to John Muir Elementary and SMASH) 500 Hollister Avenue, Santa Monica, CA. Walking, bicycling, and riding the Big Blue Bus line are encouraged. Street parking is available. Parks are wheelchair accessible and welcome persons of all abilities. For special accommodations, contact (310)458-8688 or TTY (310)458-8696.
