Cambria's Water Reclamation Facility is one step closer to being started up again after not being used in over a decade.
Cambria resident Lethia Dickerson has lived in the area for more than 10 years and says she noticed strict water restrictions when she first moved in.
“Water restrictions as far as flushing when I first came here. There was flushing restrictions at least from the residents, watering your garden, and washing your car, things like that,” Dickerson said.
The town still has some restrictions in place, such as not watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and using a shut-off nozzle when washing vehicles.
Cambria’s Water Reclamation Facility was built to help boost the community’s water supply during times of drought.
“It’s not necessarily generating new water; it treats our fluent and brackish water and reinjects it and that makes our aquaphors a bit healthier when we hit those times in which we’re really drawing down,” explained Matthew McElhenie, Cambria Community Service District (CCSD) General Manager.
Cambria residents have been paying for the water reclamation facility via a surcharge on their bills, but it has not been in use since 2014.
McElhenie said that may soon change.
“An application for a permanent coastal development permit, and that has been approximately 11 years to move that piece of it forward,” McElhenie said.
He added that before the application for a new permit was accepted for processing by San Luis Obispo County, there were a few factors the CCSD needed to address.
There were questions about site plans, pipeline alignments, grading calculations, drainage and erosion control, biological assessments, visual impact analysis," McElhenie said.
Now, the county will be looking at the environmental impact report. If accepted, it’ll go to the Planning Commission, the County Board of Supervisors, and the California Coastal Commission if it is appealed.
Eventually, a policy will be set by the board of directors on how and when the facility will be operated, but the County Board of Supervisors has the final say on the project. As of right now, there is no set date on when that will be decided.
