Rep. Susan Davis announced Monday a $5.2 million federal grant for the Sweetwater Authority to expand a desalination plant serving Bonita, Chula Vista and National City.
The grant from the Department of the Interior will go toward increasing the desalination output of the Richard A. Reynolds Desalination Facility from 3,600 acre-feet of water per year to 8,000. The plant treats “brackish,” or saline, groundwater to make it safe for human use.
The average household in the San Diego area uses less than a quarter of an acre-foot of water a year.
“Increasing sources of reliable drinking water and our region’s water independence must be a priority,” said Davis. “California is in the grips of a historic drought and improving our water infrastructure will be key to surviving this drought and any future water shortages.”
San Diego is partnering with the Sweetwater Authority in the expansion and will receive some of the additional water produced.
A much larger desalination plant under construction in Carlsbad is set to open later this year and provide 112,000 acre-feet of water per year
