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Apple Campus 2 recycled water project set for final approval [u]

Construction is progressing at Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino, Calif.

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Apple, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the city of Sunnyvale and the California Water Service Company may soon break ground on a joint $17.5 million project that will pipe recycled water into Cupertino and Apple's sprawling Campus 2 headquarters.

The water district board, which already signed off on budget and other agreements related to the project, is set to grant final approval during a meeting on Tuesday, reports San Jose Mercury News.

Apple has promised to contribute $4.8 million of the $17.5 million tab that will cover construction costs of a 13,300-foot pipeline from neighboring Sunnyvale and a local booster pump, the report said.

Participating in water recycling projects has become an attractive option for companies based in drought-stricken California. Such systems filter and disinfect sewage for use as non-potable water. For example, the publication notes Levi's Stadium uses recycled water for toilets and sprinkler systems.

Citing a California Water announcement from February, the report estimates Apple's Campus 2 will receive more than 157,000 gallons of recycled water for potential use in landscaping and other applications.

If the project receives approval, construction is scheduled to begin in August with a service start date in October 2016. That lines up with Apple's groundbreaking 25-year, $848 million clean energy deal with First Solar announced by CEO Tim Cook last month. As part of the agreement, Apple will buy 130 megawatts of power from the solar provider's upcoming 2,900-acre plant, which is slated to come online in late-2016.

AppleInsider recently provided a fresh progress update on Campus 2 construction, showing workers have finished erecting all five floors in a segment of the central "spaceship" structure's steel skeleton. Cook said he expects to move into Campus 2 by 2016.

Update: The water recycling plan has officially been approved.