Blog

DesalData Weekly - September 30th, 2015

Posted 30 September, 2015 by Mandy

jerseyThe U.K.’s first desalination plant, La Rosière in Jersey, is undergoing major upgrades. ACWA services Ltd, which is part of a leading water and wastewater corporation, will nearly double the plant’s capacity, reduce operational costs, and implement security measures for periods of low rainfall. The turnkey solution will include the redesign and expansion of the existing seawater and reverse osmosis process streams, a new dual media filter, next generation reverse osmosis membranes, pre-treatment systems and related equipment. Once the plant is operational, it will produce 10,800 cubic metres of water a day, with the capacity to produce 15,000 cubic metres of water daily (upon future expansion).

New rail lines in Jersey, near the La Rosière plant, close to Corbiere | Credit: Kevin Mansell 

 

 

[1]  [2]  [3]

 

In California, water officials in San Diego County have taken steps to build the county’s second desalination plant.   The U.S. Marine Corps and the San Diego Water Authority have signed an agreement to study the viability of building a plant at Camp Pendleton.[4]  The Water Authority has authorized a $4.05 million contract for a two-year “pilot project” to test various seawater intake methods.  If the Marine Corps and the Water Authority agree to build a plant at the camp, it could take at least another fifteen years for it to be operational (due to tests, plans, permits, and construction).

In Santa Barbara, work has begun to reactivate a 30-year old, nearly unused desalination plant.[5]   For several decades, Santa Barbara relied on reservoirs and groundwater for its water supply, until the 1980s, when a drought spurred the city to diversify with recycled water and the creation of the Charles E. Meyer desalination facility (used briefly in the early 1990s).[6]  In September 2014, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to revive the plant when Lake Cachuma, the city’s main reservoir, fell below 30% capacity.  This past summer, council members approved $55 million to fund the reopening of the plant.  The plant is set to open by fall 2016, and could provide the city of 90,000 people with nearly a third of its drinking water.[7]

 



[1] “ACWA Services Commences Modernisation Project For Jersey Desalination Plant,” Water Online, September 28, 2015, <http://www.wateronline.com/doc/acwa-services-modernisation-project-desalination-plant-0001> accessed September 29, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Photo from Sea Paddler UK, <http://seapaddleruk.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/daily-picture-55.html> accessed September 29, 2015.

[4] Tony Perry, “Officials move toward Building Desalination Plant at Camp Pendleton,” Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2015, <http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-desalination-camp-pendleton-20150925-story.html> accessed September 29, 2015.

[5] “Santa Barbara Starts Desalination Rebuild,” Desalination & Water Re-use, September 28, 2015, <http://www.desalination.biz/news/news_story.asp?id=8186&channel=0&title=Santa+Barbara+starts+desalination+rebuild> accessed September 29, 2015.

[6] Amanda Covarrubias, “Santa Barbara’s Cautious Relationship with Water Offers a Drought Lesson, Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2015, <http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-santa-barbara-conserve-20150621-story.html#page=1> accessed September 30, 2015.

[7] See Matt Hamilton, “Santa Barbara to Spend $55 million on Desalination Plant as Drought ‘Last Resort,’” Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2015, <http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-reactivating-desalination-plant-20150721-story.html> accessed September 30, 2015.

Continue reading