Cut the salt: Santa Paula launches
water softener buy back program

September 23, 2015
Santa Paula News

Santa Paula residents are being urged to cut the salt from their diet, or at least their appetite for soft water, and get up to $800 by removing water softening systems that are contaminating the water supply and signing up for an environmentally preferred service.

The city launched its water softener buy-back program last week that could earn residents $500 for removing their salt-based water softeners and up to $300 in rebates if they sign up for a water softener exchange service.

According to Interim Public Works Director Brian Yanez when the program was announced in June about a dozen residents contacted the city about removing their water softening units.

He noted that a report from 2005 estimated 1,200 households were using the softeners now banned in the city. 

The removal of the units is an amnesty program with no sanctions placed on those that are using the banned softeners. 

The new program is an effort to reduce the amount of chlorides, or salts, that end up in the wastewater treatment system and ultimately in the water supply. The city is under the gun of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, which has ordered Santa Paula to reduce the amount of chlorides generated to help retain the quality of the groundwater basin, Santa Clara River and agriculture.

Santa Paula is not the only city with the problem and is downstream from Santa Clarita, which is also tackling the issue in a much more populated area.

Santa Paula’s wastewater treatment plant — recently purchased by the city for about $75 million after five years of operation — is currently not equipped to remove chlorides. Removal of chlorides was a priority when the city entered into a controversial Design-Build-Operate-Finance agreement with Santa Paula Water to construct and own the new plant in 2008 to meet state mandated guidelines.

The city is still studying the best method to remove chlorides and lower the salt content to avoid potential fines from the state.

Yanez said the buyback program is easy: “If you sign up for the program we’ll go and do our inspections,” to ensure there is a softener in the residence and  that it has been removed at no cost, “and then the resident will remove the unit. We will dispose of it…we’re assuming people will be signing up for some sort of water softening service,” that relies on an exchangeable cartridge, “and we’ll give them $300,” in rebates relying on receipts, “towards that service.”

Two companies, Harris Water Conditioning and Rayne Water Conditioning have business licenses with the city, “So we’re very lucky…we’re also looking for other sources…we’ll pay for up to six months, up to $300 for the new water service.”

The kickoff program, approved by council in June, will be funded with $150,000 from the city’s wastewater fund, an amount Yanez said is “conservative…but if we need more funding we’ll go to the council and allocate more to the program. 

Although initial funding would provide for about 188 buybacks and rebates for a service, Yanez said, “Our goal for this fiscal year is to get 50 salt-based water softeners out of the system, that would be a good number. This is very important to us to resolve our existing chloride issues.”

In all it would cost the city about $3.1 million to remove all the units and offer financing for a new service, but the cost is much lower than what could be imposed by the state.

He believes the public is willing to help the city avoid the fines that in turn would be detrimental to the community.

“When the council first approved the program we got at least a dozen calls about it and since we’ve been running the ads we’re getting more calls…people are interested,” in the program.

Applications are available at City Hall (970 E. Ventura St.), the Community Center (corner of West Main Street and Steckel Drive) and Public Works Offices (866 E. Main below the Odd Fellows Clock Tower). 

Applications can also be downloaded from the city’s website, www.spcity.org





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