New water treatment plant for California

SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Orange County, Calif., began operations at its $490 million water purification plant turning 70 million gallons of sewage into potable water every day.

The facility purifies the effluent from a nearby sewage treatment facility and the water is slated for injection into Orange County's groundwater basin.

The procedure not only offers abatement from saltwater intrusion into the groundwater, but also enhances the drinking water supply for the 2.3 million people in the region, the Los Angeles Times said Wednesday.

"This will help drought-proof the region and give us a locally controlled source of water," said the general manager of the water district Michael R. Markus.

Treated wastewater pumps through 26 holding basins employing 270 million micro-filters. This product is then percolated through to a giant underground aquifer, allowing further cleansing the discharge through 1,000 feet of earth.

The reclaimed water is a bit more expensive than water imported from Northern California, but officials expect that to be offset through market forces.