Pure Water Named Water Reuse Project of the Year

Hailed as a “significant step towards San Diego’s dream of achieving water independence,” the City of San Diego’s Pure Water program has been named “Water Reuse Project of the Year.”

The recognition came at the 2016 Global Water Summit in the United Arab Emirates last month.

Pure Water “will generate valuable data which could help shape the future implementation of direct potable reuse,” according to the summit’s organizers.

The Times of San Diego, in covering the award, quoted the judges as saying, “San Diego has historically been dependent on imported water. Despite this, a 1990s plan to reclaim primary effluent for potable reuse purposes met with strong opposition from local citizens... The tenacity of local officials in turning public opinion around is thus all the more remarkable.”

Also receiving an award at the summit was the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which was honored as the Desalination Plant of the Year.