Yesterday, on August 28, the City held a dedication ceremony for the new AgX MFRO,
a membrane filtration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO) water reuse treatment plant located in Escondido. This facility will provide a high-quality alternative to potable water for local agriculture growers.
The project partners, Filanc Brown and Caldwell (FBC) Joint Venture, and the City completed construction for this new $65M two-million-gallon-per-day facility in November 2023. The AgX MFRO facility takes water redirected from an ocean outfall, which was reaching capacity and would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars to upsize. Instead, water is now redirected to the MFRO facility and treated for beneficial reuse by producing water with levels of salinity ideal for agriculture e.g., avocado growers. This results in lower water rates for farmers and a separate revenue stream for the City, and offsets the potable water the farmers previously used, making the supply available for other users and increasing local water resiliency.
Funding for this project was provided in full or in part through an agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board. California’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund is capitalized through a variety of funding sources, including grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and state bond proceeds.
