Water district marks completion of two projects
Ramona Municipal Water District board of directors and staff celebrated the completion of two projects, one at the San Vicente Water Reclamation Plant and the other at Ramona Fire Station 81, on Dec. 18 in what was billed a Dedication Doubleheader.
“Today is a momentous occasion,” David Barnum, district general manager, said at the board’s special meeting that convened at the Ramona Community Center for a few minutes. Staff and board members then drove to the San Vicente Plant near the entrance of San Diego Country Estates.
Adding a third reverse osmosis system at the San Vicente Water Reclamation Plant will increase the amount of recycled water the plant can produce and in turn decrease the amount of brine that has to be hauled away, according to the district, which spends about $300,000 annually in brine hauling. The district sells the recycled water to the San Vicente Golf Resort and Spangler Peak Ranch.
Wastewater Operations Superintendent Jim Anderson said the new system has been on a test run the past month, and they have slowly increased the output. The system has been running 2 1/2 gallons per minute and will slowly be ramped up to 3 1/2 gallons per minute, he said.
“Every gallon this produces is one gallon less that we have to haul away,” he said.
At 2 1/2 gallons per minute, Anderson estimated the pay back period would be about three years.
The cost of the system was just under $150,000, said Barnum.
In addition to the RO3 system, Anderson noted that a Quonset hut was added for equipment, a curtain was installed around a portion of the structure housing the RO units to protect them, and the parking lot was re-paved.
Ramonan Steve Cappos attended as both a resident and as chief executive officer of Toray Membrane USA in Poway, which supplied the membranes for the RO3 system. He explained how the membranes provide filtration inside the system’s tubes.
Also at the dedication were officials from Enaqua, the company contracted by the district for the system.
From the San Vicente plant the group drove into the Estates to Fire Station 81 near the end of San Vicente Road to see the newly-completed extension of the apparatus bay, where the fire engines are stored.
The most important part is that the fire engines fit in the bay and the garage doors can be closed, said Barnum.
“Ultimately we could not close the doors for many years,” he said.
Ramona Fire Department/Cal Fire Chief Steve Foster said closing the doors is important for security. Fire engines today are longer in length than they were when the station was built in 1977, according to staff.
The project, which included replacing the roof over the bay as there was a hole and water dripped in when it rained, came in just under $255,000, said Foster. Also added were new electrical work, lighting, and fresh paint. The district said it saved money by hiring architect Jim Nicoloff for the design. He started the project about 11 years ago while designing Fire Station 82, but the district could not complete Station 81 at that time as funding was needed for Station 82.
Barnum said the district will likely have a project dedication in January or February for its new clarifier project underway at the Santa Maria Water Reclamation Plant.