Santa Clarita Approved Water Softners.

Santa Clarita Home Inspector Carl Reese is posting this information for all residents that wish to know more about Water Softners and the Rebate program.  If you want to install a Water softner system that is approved contact our office or check out our website at www.carlreese.com for more details.

To obtain an application for the Automatic Water Softener Rebate Program, please click the link below. Be sure to complete the application, and sign it prior to mailing. Incomplete applications cannot be processed. The application can be mailed or faxed to (562) 908-4224.

• Rebate Application Form (PDF) (DOC)

Take the Rebate and Run: Up to $2,000 for your Automatic Water Softener

The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District (Sanitation District) offers an automatic water softener rebate program. If you have an automatic water softener, you can get a rebate for the reasonable value of the unit—from $206 up to $2,000—and free removal by a pre-selected licensed plumber.

Applying for the rebate is simple:

1. Submit the one page rebate application to the Sanitation District (forms can be obtained by clicking on the Rebate Application Form link above).

2. After receiving your authorization to proceed, which will identify your rebate amount, schedule an appointment with a plumber on the list that accompanies the letter.

3. Watch the mail for your check.

As you may be aware, automatic water softeners release a salty waste into the sewer system. Though the wastewater is thoroughly treated before discharge into the Santa Clara River, the treatment process does not remove salt. The salty waste may be harmful to downstream aquatic life and/or agriculture.

If all automatic water softeners are not removed, the Sanitation District will be forced to build an advanced treatment process to take the equivalent salt loading out of the water. These treatment costs have been estimated to be $74 million.

In 2003, the Sanitation District banned the installation of all new automatic water softeners, but four percent of homes in the Valley still own one. This rebate program responds to citizen concerns about losing the capital investment in their softener by reimbursing the reasonable value of the unit based on age, purchase price and model retail rates. The rebate program provides reimbursement for 75 percent of the reasonable value of the automatic water softener.

To qualify for the Automatic Water Softener Rebate Program, the automatic water softener, the kind to which you add rock salt or potassium chloride, must be owned by the rebate program applicant(rentals are not eligible). Portable exchange tanks, which are rental units where the softening tank is exchanged periodically by a service provider for a new softening tank, are legal to use and are not eligible for a rebate. The automatic water softener must be installed in a residential unit (house, multiplex, condominium, apartment, or mobile home) that is served by the Sanitation District. Residences outside of the Sanitation District or served by septic tanks are not eligible. If the residence has more than one automatic water softener, all must be removed to qualify for this rebate program. The program is limited to one rebate per site address (location where the automatic water softener is installed).

As a condition of the Automatic Water Softener Rebate Program, a Sanitation District’s representative is authorized to visit the residence to verify that the automatic water softener is installed prior to removal.

If you would like to dispose of the salt or potassium chloride yourself, it must be disposed of as household hazardous waste. Residents of the City of Santa Clarita may call Curbside Incorporated at (800) 449-7587 or (800) HHW-PKUP to schedule a free household hazardous waste pickup. Residents of unincorporated Los Angeles County may dispose of salt for free at the Saugus Water Reclamation Plant at 26200 Springbrook Avenue in Santa Clarita. At the Saugus Water Reclamation Plant, salt is collected at the Liquid Waste Disposal Station. Enter the station by driving through the railroad crossing located opposite Saugus Suzuki at 26081 Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus. The station is open Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is closed Sunday and major holidays.

All residents may also dispose of salt for free at the annual Santa Clarita Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events and at the East San Fernando Valley S.A.F.E. Collection Center. The East San Fernando Valley S.A.F.E. Center is located at 11025 Randall Street in Sun Valley and is open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. except on major holidays.

If you have additional questions, please call 877-CUT-SALT.

Here are the results of the measure voted on Nov 4th 2008 to remove exsisting Salt based water softners.  So now if you have one in your house , even if you were grandfathered in before…you must remove it.

Measure S Removal of Residential “Salt-Based” Water Softeners — Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District(Ordinance - Majority Approval Required)
Pass: 55,502 / 64.02% Yes votes …… 31,192 / 35.98% Novotes