Santa Monica Opens Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project

On Thursday, November 17, the City of Santa Monica is opening its Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP).

According to a city press release, this is a first-of-its-kind water recycling facility that adds a drought resilient water supply to the City of Santa Monica’s water portfolio.

The city has aimed to advance projects that reduce Santa Monica's reliance on imported water supplies as stated in the 2018 Sustainable Water Master Plan, especially in light of worsening drought conditions. 

SWIP, which will appear like a parking lot at the City's Civic Center, will "provide up to 1,600 acre-feet per year of purified water or roughly 10% of the City’s total water supply," the press release said. This will be made possible by three integral elements in the project, which include: 

• Element 1: Stormwater, Dry Weather Urban Runoff Treatment and Reuse
• Element 2: Stormwater and Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Potable Reuse
• Element 3: Stormwater Harvesting

The goals of SWIP, according to the release, are as follows: 

• Improve water quality in the Santa Monica Bay by diverting stormwater and urban runoff away from the ocean;
• Include upgrades to the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (Element 1), known as SMURRF, making it the first project in the State of California where treated stormwater is directly injected into the groundwater basin to recharge local groundwater supplies;
• Includes both a new 1.5-million-gallon stormwater harvesting tank (Element 2) and a new 1 million gallon per day advanced water treatment facility (Element 3);
• Have three elements that work together to convert stormwater and wastewater into purified water that will be used for irrigation, dual-plumbed buildings, and to recharge our local groundwater basin and; 
• Increase local water supplies to reduce the city's reliance on imported water supplies.

Additionally, planters on the surface level of the site will mark air vents releasing filtered air from the plant. This means SWIP is designed to not be odorous, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported.

On November 17, State Senator Ben Allen, along with city staff and city council members will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the $95 million project.