City of Oceanside Wins WateReuse Award of Excellence

The City of Oceanside received an Award of Excellence during the WateReuse Conference this month. Oceanside received the Recycled Water Outreach/Education Program Award for Pure Water Oceanside, which pays tribute to an agency that demonstrates a significant and wide-reaching community outreach and/or public education program that informs the community about the presence and benefits of water reuse.

 Scheduled to be complete in 2022, Pure Water Oceanside will be the first fully operational indirect potable reuse project in San Diego County providing more than 32% of the City of Oceanside’s water supply. The City has implemented strategic public outreach and education in order to provide an interactive experience that highlights the importance of this project.
 
The City of Oceanside offers a bustling tour program, which allows you to directly experience and interact with program operators, engineers, and project managers. Videos, and educational material highlight the many benefits of Pure Water Oceanside including decreased dependence on imported water, using one-third of the energy required to desalinate seawater, helping to make Oceanside more drought-resilient, protecting the groundwater basin from saltwater contamination, and protecting the environment by reusing a precious resource.
 
Oceanside has made great efforts in the development of water reuse programs in order to address the variety of challenges facing the City and the entire southwest region. In 2009, the Oceanside City Council made the ambitious goal of a 50% local water supply by 2030. To highlight the efforts made to reach this goal, the public was invited to attend “Oceanside’s World of Water Day” at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility. At the event, guests were able to learn about the technology behind Pure Water Oceanside by touring the facility, participating in hands-on water experiments, watching equipment demonstrations and even participating in water-themed crafts.
 
Community members interested in experiencing Pure Water Oceanside can view our 360-degree virtual tour. The video tour provides an immersive look at the water recycling process that prepares water for Pure Water Oceanside. The advanced water purification project will create a new, local source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof and environmentally sound. Visit www.PureWaterOceanside.org to engage and look all around by simply using a computer mouse or moving your phone to view San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility in 360-degrees.
 
The City uses a combination of innovative communication methods in order to provide consistent and factual information about Pure Water Oceanside’s purpose, need, benefit, technology and safety to the Oceanside community. Public events and outreach materials are consistently being developed to continue to build support and foster understanding of advanced water purification. To learn more about Pure Water Oceanside and participate in upcoming events, please visit www.PureWaterOceanside.org.