Water Treament
The Vineyard Surface Water Treatment Plant is the largest project ever undertaken by the Water Agency with constructions costs totaling over $200 million. This plant can treat up to 50 million gallons of drinking water per day and will ultimately expand to treat up to 100 million gallons per day -- roughly equivalent to 100 thousand homes and businesses.
Until the treatment plant began serving water in 2011, nearly all of the water delivered to Water Agency customers was groundwater pumped from underground aquifers. Recognizing the importance of wise management of the region’s groundwater, the Water Agency has focused long-term planning efforts on two things:
- Securing rights and entitlements to surface water supplies and
- Constructing the infrastructure to deliver that surface water to reduce demand for groundwater
These planning goals were achieved with the construction of the Vineyard Surface Water Treatment Plant which treats water diverted from the Sacramento River through the Freeport Regional Water Authority intake facility to drinking water quality standards. The ability to deliver a substantial surface water supply has reduced demand for groundwater and allow the aquifers to naturally replenish, helping to preserve our precious groundwater resources for future users.
