Seeking to squeeze more value out of wastewater, the Palo Alto City Council approved on May 13 the construction of a $63-million salt-removing plant in the Baylands. Known as the Local Advanced Water Purification System, the plant will go up at the periphery of the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, the industrial facility at 2501 Embarcadero Way that serves Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford University and the East Palo Alto Sanitary District. It will consist of three structures: a 30-foot-tall storage tank, an open-air building and a prefabricated building. They would go up at the northwest side of the regional plant, next to Embarcadero Road. Unlike other advanced purification systems, the new Palo Alto plant will not make wastewater safe for drinking.

Related wastewater articles: 

• San Mateo Daily Journal: San Mateo County celebrates sewer conveyance
• Santa Barbara Independent: Six-year sewer saga continues in Los Olivos