The Greenspot Recharge Project includes multiple treatment process upgrades and uses the best available technology to produce over 325 million gallons, or 500 acre-feet (AFY), per year of purified water.

These upgrades, including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, will produce purified water that meets or exceeds all state and federal water quality standards. Once absorbed into the ground, this purified water will undergo additional, natural filtration through layers of earth as it travels northwest to existing wells. It can later be withdrawn and used throughout the Big Bear Valley.

[BRIDGETTE, we will have the treatment graphic here, similar to the one here https://www.cvwd.net/about-potable-reuse. Is it currently in design]

How it Works: Process Descriptions

Ultrafiltration: Water is pushed through membranes with microscopic pores so small they filter out bacteria, viruses, and suspended solids.

Reverse Osmosis: Water is forced, using high pressure pumping, through an even tighter semi-permeable membrane that removes dissolved salts, minerals, and trace chemicals while maximizing the amount of clean water recovered from each batch. 

Ultraviolet Disinfection-Advanced Oxidation Process (UV-AOP): UV-AOP uses UV light, combined with a disinfectant, to break down any remaining trace organic compounds and destroy pathogens at the molecular level. 

Enhanced Evaporation: The leftover brine concentrate from earlier treatment steps is sprayed over a large surface area to speed up natural evaporation, shrinking the remaining wastewater down to a much smaller volume for disposal. 

Product Water Stabilization: Minerals and pH-balancing chemicals are added back into the highly purified water to match the water chemistry characteristics of Big Bear's groundwater, preventing it from being corrosive and making it safe for pipes and the environment.

Soil Aquifer Treatment: The water is spread across large open ponds where it then percolates down through layers of soil and rock. Natural processes provide an additional layer of filtration and treatment before the water reaches municipal wells.