The Camp Pendleton desalination project in California is one of nine advanced water treatment and reuse projects in three US states selected for feasibility-study funding by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Reclamation commissioner Michael Connor announced the nine studies for funding on 9 May 2011. Funded under the WaterSMART Title XVI Water Reclamation & Reuse Program, the projects are located in California, Oklahoma, and Texas, and will receive a total of US$ 1,176,760 from WaterSMART, which will result in a total of US$ 4.9 million available to help fund the studies.
“The western United States faces great challenges in providing potable water while maintaining healthy aquifers and reliable regional water supplies,” said Connor. “These Reclamation-sponsored feasibility studies will examine where project sponsors can stretch available water supplies and protect against drought by using recycled water and advanced water treatment technologies.”
The studies will focus on the water and energy efficiencies that can be gained through water reclamation and reuse, resulting in well-planned water projects that are sustainable and use less energy.
The Camp Pendleton funding will enable the San Diego County Water Authority to evaluate treatment technologies, intake and discharge facilities, desalinated water conveyance and project-related impacts to ocean and land environments associated with the development of a large-scale seawater desalination project. The results of the feasibility study will advance the authority’s planning efforts for the project, which is intended to provide a new drought-proof and sustainable water supply for the San Diego region.
Another proposed study comes from the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, which manages groundwater for approximately 4 million California residents. The district will address the technical, legal and institutional issues necessary to expand the Goldsworthy Desalter saline groundwater reclamation facility from its current capacity of 2.5 MGD (9,450 m³/d) to a total of 5 MGD (18,900 m³/d).
Through increased reclamation of saline groundwater, expansion of the facility would be expected to improve groundwater reliability and the overall health of the groundwater basin, reduce reliance on imported water and increase the productivity of the groundwater basin.
Other new feasibility studies selected for funding under the Reclamation and Reuse Program are:
As a next step, Reclamation will work with each successful applicant to develop a financial assistance agreement for the proposed study. Funding will be provided once each agreement has been executed.