WRC Recognizes Water Reuse Champions for 2017

SAN DIEGO (April 24, 2017) – The Water Reliability Coalition (WRC) has honored Pure Water San Diego, Stone Brewery and the City of Oceanside for making important advances in water reuse.

Pure Water San Diego and Stone Brewery received the Public-Private Partnership Award for their efforts to increase awareness of the safety and reliability of potable reuse by brewing Stone Full Circle Pale Ale beer with purified water produced from the City's demonstration Pure Water Facility.

The City of Oceanside won the Public Agency Award for its Aquifer Augmentation Project, which will reuse a total of 12 million gallons a day (MGD) of highly purified water – with half available for potable supply and half for agricultural and landscaping uses.

“As we emerge from one of the worst droughts California has ever experienced, the accomplishments of these awardees are more meaningful than ever in terms of the region being able to create sustainable new water supplies,” said WRC Co-Chair Matt O’Malley of San Diego Coastkeeper.

“Moving forward, San Diego is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the field of potable reuse, ensuring its future as a cost-effective, reliable and sustainable source of water,” said WRC Co-Chair Sean Karafin, of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “That is due in large part to nominees like the ones we are honoring.”

Pure Water and Stone Brewery unveiled Stone Full Circle Pale Ale at a March event attended by more than 200 City leaders and elected officials. The event marked the first time a commercial brewery had brewed beer with 100 percent advanced-treated recycled water. Close to 80 local, national and international media outlets featured the historic event.

Katz & Associates, which has a rich history in public outreach for potable reuse projects, initiated the partnership and managed all aspects to ensure the Pure Stone event was a huge nationally-recognized success.

The City of Oceanside’s aquifer augmentation project is currently in preliminary design. The goal of the project is to provide a reliable, high quality, safe, and drought proof water supply for the City’s customers. This involves recharging the Mission Groundwater Basin using highly treated wastewater from the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility.

The WRC announced the awards at its Spring Reception on April 20. About 120 people, including more than a dozen elected officials, attended the event at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse.

The WRC is a broad-based affiliation of environmental, consumer, business, labor, ratepayer and technical entities advocating for a safe, reliable, sustainable and cost-effective local water supply.