FONTANA, CA – ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ celebrated its commitment to conservation and mindful resource management with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held jointly with the Fontana Water Company on July 29 at Henry J. Kaiser High School to mark the completion of a reclaimed water project.
Six FUSD schools in the south end of Fontana: Canyon Crest, Oak Park, and Shadow Hills elementary schools; Chaparral Academy of Technology; Southridge Tech Middle School; and Kaiser High School connected their existing landscape irrigation water supply to recycled water, saving both the District and taxpayers money by drastically reducing water consumption. This move is one of four eco-friendly initiatives in the District, including using electric buses, solar panels, and organic waste recycling at all FUSD sites.
“One of the ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Board goals we take very seriously is purposeful use of public resources and today’s project fulfills that goal perfectly. Not only does this project conserve water, but it leverages our taxpayers’ dollars,” Superintendent Miki R. Inbody said. “The switch to recycled water services not only benefits our playing fields and school grounds but also the broader, sustainable goals we have in our District, in our state, and our nation.”
The conversion of the six schools’ irrigation systems to recycled water is estimated to save enough drinking water to supply more than 200 Fontana residences with water for one year, which amounts to approximately $190,000 in savings each year, Inbody said.
ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ celebrated the completion of the project with a full morning of festivities, including performances from Kaiser High’s distinguished Catamount Pride Marching Band & Color Guard and Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Color Guard.
Among the esteemed dignitaries in attendance were City of Fontana City Councilmembers John B. Roberts and Jesus “Jesse” Sandoval, and Treasurer Janet Koehler-Brooks; ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Board of Education President Marcelino “Mars” Serna, Board member Mary Sandoval; Inland Empire Utilities Agency Manager of Operations Scott Lening; Fontana Water Company President Robert DiPrimio; and San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools representative Norm Nunez.
FUSD received more than $340,000 in grant funding from the Fontana Water Company ($140,000) and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ($200,000) to complete the project. T.E. Roberts, Inc., a Southern California company specializing in underground pipeline construction, undertook the project, which began in February 2024.
In addition to benefiting the environment and saving taxpayer funds, recycled water is not subject to the same restrictions as domestic water during drought-mandated reductions, allowing the District to keep these sites, including athletic fields, greener during dry years.
Southridge Tech and Kaiser High are the first middle and high schools to be connected to recycled water within the City of Fontana and Fontana Water Company’s service area. FUSD’s goal is to get all its schools online with reclaimed water in the future, Serna said.
“This is the fourth sustainability program going on in ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ right now – we are doing solar at all of our sites, we have electric buses going, we are collecting and separating our waste for recyclables, and now we have water reclamation,” Serna said. “We are proud of the work we are doing and we aren’t going to stop here, there is still more to do.”