Chino desalters get first general manager

Curtis Paxton, currently assistant general manager and chief operating officer of the Palmdale Water District, is to become the first general manager of the Chino Basin Desalter Authority (CBDA) in California from 24 January 2011.

The authority is responsible for cleaning and desalination of Chino Basin groundwater used by customers in Chino, Chino Hills, Ontario, Jurupa, Norco and western Riverside County.

The CBDA’s two treatment plants are to be expanded to increase water production from 24,600 acre-feet (30.3 nbsp;million m³) to 35,200 acre-feet (43.4 million m³) per year by 2014. The US$ 116 million expansion cost will be shared equally among Ontario, Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) and the Jurupa Community Services District.

WMWD, as program manager of the CBDA Expansion Phase 3 Project, has issued a request for proposals for professional engineering services for a pilot study of a brine-concentrate reduction facility by 24 January 2011.