By KATHERINE PETERSEN
More than 300 Sunnyvale companies will have access to reclaimed water for irrigation once Sunnyvale completes Phase II of its Water Reclamation Project.
Preliminary construction activities for the seven miles of pipe of Phase II began May 7 and will continue for about six months.
Distribution pipe for the reclaimed water will be installed in the area north of Highway 237, between Mathilda Avenue and Caribbean Drive, and construction will take place Monday through Friday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Gerry Krize, Sunnyvale's senior construction coordinator, said there may be limited traffic disruptions. Reclaimed water is scheduled for delivery to commercial and industrial areas throughout Moffett Industrial Park in 1997, he added. The city has a $2.4 million contract with West Valley Construction Co. to complete this project.
The city developed the Water Reclamation Program to reclaim water from the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) for commercial and municipal landscape irrigation and industrial uses. Recycling water from the WPCP will provide an additional 2 million gallons of water a day and will become the city's fourth water source.
David Vossbrink, Sunnyvale's community relations officer, said the use of reclaimed water for non-drinking purposes will increase the city's fresh water supply and will serve as protection during drought periods, which are inevitable in California. He added that use of reclaimed water will protect the environment by reducing fresh water discharges into San Francisco Bay.
Since the completion of Phase I in 1994, Sunnyvale Golf Course has received reclaimed water. Additional Phase I users to come online include Baylands Park, Lockheed Martin, Moffett Federal Airfield and Moffett Golf Course.
Subsequent Phase II construction will continue into 1997, providing reclaimed water along Fair Oaks Avenue and in the East Duane industrial area.
Curtis Black, Sunnyvale's superintendent of golf, said Sunnyvale Golf Course has used reclaimed water intermittently in its six acres of lakes and canals since last August, but has not used it on the turf yet. He said using reclaimed water has benefits as well as drawbacks.
"We're at a break-even point right now. We are seeing an increase in the cost of some algae management, and we have to use an electric pump system to move water from lake to lake," Black said. When the golf course used the city's potable water, each lake had its own valve for water flow.
However, he conceded that the initial cost of the water is lower at 90 percent of potable water's cost.
"It's good clean water loaded with good nutrients," Black said.
For questions or concerns related to construction, contact Gerry Krize at 730-7428.
For questions about the Water Reclamation Program, contact Doris Blakes, Public Education Coordinator, WPCP, at 730-7738.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 15, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.