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<br />001238 <br /> <br />general, the municipal and industrial water usage on per capita <br />basis seems to be reasonable by comparison with other states. <br />l-lithout being particularly conscious of the fact, the <br />citizens of California have been reusing sewage effluent and <br />other waste water for many years, simply by recapturing it after <br />natural processing from our streams and ground water basins. <br />Recently we have started programs aimed at augmenting nature's <br />reclamation processes to increase our reuse of water. I will <br />briefly discuss two of these here--the Whittier Narrows Project <br />and the Santee Lakes Project--but I have copies with me here of <br />a mimeographed report which gives more information on plans for <br />projects of this type throughout the State. <br />The ,fuittier Narrows Water Reclamation Plant has been <br />operated by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts to demon- <br />strate the feasibility and economy of reclaiming waste water. <br />Built on a 27-acre site, this plant can be expanded from its <br />present l2-million-gallon- per-day capacity to 100 million gallons <br />per day when needed. This plant uses the activated sludge process <br />of sewage treatment. Its final effluent is used to recharge <br />ground water basins south of the Whittier Narrows Gap at a price <br />which is competitive with that of imported Colorado River water. <br />The State Department of Water Resources estimates that there is <br />a potential for about 280,000 acre-feet per year of additional <br />reclamation in the South Coastal area at the present level of <br />development. The remaining sewage effluent is either too highly <br /> <br />-12- <br />