West Basin Municipal Water District has selected a team led by engineering consultancy, Geosyntec, to study options for subsurface seawater intake for the district’s proposed 75,700-227,100 m³/d seawater reverse osmosis project.
The study will also develop a guidance manual to be used by regulators, project proponents and others interested in learning how a subsurface intake could be a viable option for a specific desalination site.
Once completed, West Basin will test the manual by performing offshore and onshore field trials, including borings, offshore vibracorings and mapping of the ocean floor to prepare a scientific and defensible intake analysis. The study will mirror the recent efforts of the Coastal Commission and Poseidon Resources on the proposed Huntington Beach desalination project including the appointment of an expert peer review panel.
The project’s cost, including a 10% contingency fee, will not exceed US$ 656,234, and the project will receive a US$ 150,000 grant from the US Bureau of Reclamation’s Water Purification and Desalination Grant Program.
The district said Geosyntec was chosen from four proposals received in response to an August request for proposals.