Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) is located in Southern California, a semi-arid area with limited
water resources. IRWD and their project partner Orange County Water District (OCWD) have made a
commitment to implement reverse osmosis and air stripping technologies to clean up the Irvine subbasin
and develop a new water supply for the area.
The Irvine Desalter Project (IDP) will extract and treat groundwater to:
develop a local water supply;
intercept, contain, and treat groundwater with high concentrations of salts (TDS) and nitrates; and,
accept and treat for volatile organic compounds (VOC) removal contaminated groundwater from
the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.
IDP is composed of two separate components: a non-potable system which treats VOC contaminated
groundwater and a potable system which treats groundwater from wells located outside the VOC
plume. The potable system uses reverse osmosis (RO) to remove TDS and nitrates. The non-potable
system treats VOC contaminated water using RO and air stripping with granulated activated carbon
(GAC) off-gas treatment.
Typical of most inland desalting projects, brine disposal is a major challenge. Downstream wastewater
treatment plants do not want to accept the brine due to its high salt content. IRWD is currently
analyzing alternative disposal options including construction of a regional brine line to a nearby ocean
outfall.
The completed project will not only halt the spread of contaminated groundwater but will also provide
a new, local, cost-effective water supply. This paper outlines the steps IRWD and OCWD have taken
to make this project a reality. Details are provided on:
pilot testing;
full scale treatment plant design;
project costs; and,
project funding. Includes tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 1.4 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 19 |
| Published : | 06/17/2004 |
