Civita

Context

Water conservation is top of mind in San Diego, which receives less than 10 inches of rainfall annually and imports roughly 85 percent of its water from northern California and the Colorado River. The property will include 4,780 residential homes and apartments, an elementary school, about 480,000 square feet for a lifestyle retail center, and 420,000 square feet for an office/business campus when complete. As of April 2022, the project is roughly two-thirds complete, with the large retail and office development remaining. At the heart of the development is the 14.3-acre Civita Park, which is connected to neighborhoods through a network of pedestrian paths and trails.

Civita features a variety of water conservation strategies, including water reuse, low-flow fixtures, smart meters, native plants, and water-efficient irrigation. (Sudberry Properties)

The property existed as a productive sand and gravel quarry for more than 70 years before its remarkable transformation into a walkable, mixed-use community organized around a network of parks and open space. Combining innovation, sustainability, and ecological restoration, Civita is a product of Quarry Falls LLC, a partnership between Sudberry Properties and Alta Company LLC.

Drought Resilience Strategies

Water/energy efficiency

Civita uses a wide variety of strategies to conserve water across the property. In the Civita apartment communities, plumbing fixtures all meet EPA’s WaterSense specifications, and residents can monitor their water consumption on a smart meter panel prominently displayed inside their units, like a thermostat. Most apartments also feature water heater recirculation systems that lower water consumption by reducing the amount of time it takes hot water to reach faucets. Within the communities, a combination of native plants and computerized, weather-based irrigation controls conserve water that would normally be allocated for landscaping.

Water recycling and reuse

The property is in the process of building its own water treatment plant to recycle and reuse water on site for irrigation. The Civita Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) will divert the flow of the development’s domestic graywater and blackwater for on-site treatment, where it will be treated to produce recycled water in accordance with state of California regulatory requirements. This WRF is a membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant, which is an approved technology with a long history of success in water reuse projects. Wastewater travels through multiple screening, biological, and filtering processes to screen out and break down organic material and bacteria. The final step in the process after the MBR tanks is for the treated water to pass through a chlorine disinfection system, which eliminates any remaining bacteria, and the clean non-potable water is stored in a tank on site before distribution for irrigation.

Purple pipes have been installed throughout Civita to provide recycled water for all common landscape uses, including streetscapes and parks. Once the Civita water reclamation plant is in operation, Civita owners will acquire the purple pipes from the city of San Diego and provide recycled water for all common area landscaping. Water rates for the reclaimed water will be kept at or below potable water rates.

A view of the completed Civita Park. (Sudberry Properties)

Business Outcomes

Water savings

Combined with building water efficiency and efficient irrigation, the recycled water system at Civita is estimated to reduce overall water use by 26 percent, which is equal to about 100 million gallons of water per year. As droughts continue to increase in duration and severity in Southern California, Civita’s investment in the water treatment plant and conservation-focused design strategies allow the property to control its own water destiny, fostering a vibrant, sustainable lifestyle for its residents. 

Awards and recognition

Civita achieved a Stage 1 Gold rating for the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2009 LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development) pilot and received the 2009 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award.

In addition, Civita has been designated as a California Catalyst Community. This program was sponsored by the California Department of Housing and Community Development to support innovation and test sustainable strategies that reflect the interdependence of environmental, economic, and community health.