The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded the City of Oceanside $2 million for the City’s Biogas Renewable Energy Capacity Expansion Project and Turf Replacement Rebate. The City received the award after applying for the WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant.
The $2 million will be used to integrate wastewater, water conservation, food scraps to energy, and water reuse programs to achieve greater energy sustainability and drought resilience. This project will reduce water consumption through the expansion of existing turf removal programs, increase the capacity to produce renewable energy from biogas at the City’s wastewater treatment facility, divert food scraps from landfill, avoid releasing excess carbon dioxide, expand capacity at the San Luis Rey Wastewater Facility, improve water quality and increase the production of compost.
The WaterSMART funding will fund diversion of food scraps from landfill to help meet the City’s zero-waste goals and state-mandated diversion goals. The City’s wastewater treatment facility will be upgraded to process slurried food scraps and convert it to energy. The additional local, clean, renewable energy produced through this project will power equipment used to run the City’s potable reuse, recycled water and wastewater treatment processes by offsetting grid-based electricity.
“The City of Oceanside works diligently to improve water efficiency by providing conservation programming, rebates, automated metering and other efficiency programs,” said Lindsay Leahy, Water Utilities Director. “Utilizing local biogas energy will reduce greenhouse gas generation and provide sustainable processes that will further Oceanside’s efforts to provide the most efficient use of resources.”
The WaterSMART Program, administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, provides water and energy efficiency grants to water districts and communities to modernize water delivery infrastructure and increase hydropower generation. These grants are meant to enable communities to conserve and use water more efficiently, and contribute to water supply reliability in the western United States.
