On Nov. 14, the Solvang City Council adopted an ordinance placing restrictions on the use of salt-based soft water filtration systems in houses.
Specifically, the ordinance bans low-efficiency units, according to Solvang City Manager Brad Vidro. Owners of residential units in the city must replace their current filtration systems to “high-efficiency sensor systems,” he said, and would have to do so by January 2022.
The reason for the ordinance, Vidro said, is because of salt loading in the wastewater treatment plant. He said the city considered banning water softeners altogether, but the City Council voted for restrictions instead.
In October 2011, a City Council report cited an independent study that showed that salt-using water softeners were a significant contributor to higher concentrations of sodium and chloride in the wastewater treatment plant.
The city regularly tests mineral content of the water at the treatment plant and the ordinance will effectively reduce the amount of salt in the groundwater, Vidro added.
Solvang’s wastewater treatment plant processes water for the city as well as the Santa Ynez Valley.
“We’re trying to address the issue,” Vidro said. “Without a treatment system, we’re not able to filter out all of the salt.”
With California going into a sixth year of drought, cities throughout the state have had to rely more on groundwater, including Solvang. The city actually uses a combination of groundwater, water provided by the state, and water from the nearby Santa Ynez River. The ratio of use between the three fluctuates from year to year, Vidro said.
The ordinance doesn’t become completely official until it’s read for the second time at the Nov. 28 City Council meeting.
This article appears in Nov 17-24, 2016.