Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1019735
20 On Site September 2018 Water.desalination+reuse huge egg-shaped digesters, designed to destroy disease causing organisms and produce methane gas for energy generation. MBR pilot All four of LA's waste water reclamation facilities, at Glendale, Van Nuys, Terminal Island, and Santa Monica Bay, are rolling out new water recycling schemes to help boost the city's water resilience in the face of climate change and population growth. These will be key to meeting targets announced by Mayor Eric Garcetti to reduce the purchase of imported water by 50 per cent by 2025, and to source half of water locally by 2035. "We want to be more proactive and through various water reuse and reclamation projects reduce the amount of secondary effluent we discharge into the ocean," says Emami. "The ultimate aim is to recycle and find uses for 100 per cent of Hyperion's water beyond 2027." In terms of current recycling, an average 35mgd, out of a total 265mgd of secondary effluent Hyperion produces, is sent to the water agency West Basin Municipal Water District to undergo further treatment for end-user applications, such as landscape irrigation or industrial boilers in refineries. Around 37mgd is reused at facilities on the Hyperion site. Ambitious plans are afoot to construct a huge 70mgd membrane bioreactor treatment facility, designed to provide customers of LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and West Basin Municipal Water District with high quality nitrified/denitrified recycled water by 2026. The concept will be piloted in a smaller facility, due to be built at Hyperion by December 2020, where super-fine screens will remove microscopic pollutants, such as micro-plastics or viruses and prozoa, from wastewater. A nitrification–denitrification process will then extract nitrogenous compounds considered harmful to humans and the environment, such as ammonia or organic nitrogen. Advanced treatment Additionally, an advanced water purification facility will be built at Hyperion by December 2021, to produce high quality recycled water for customers including LAX Airport. The result of a partnership between LA Sanitation, LADWP and Los Angeles World Airports, the facility will use reverse osmosis to remove viruses, pharmaceuticals and dissolved minerals. Powerful ultraviolet light and advanced oxidation The mind boggles and the range of strange objects we have had to remove, from bowling balls to motorcycles Nasir Emami, environmental engineer for Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant will further disinfect water to destroy pathogens and constituents of emerging concern found at trace levels in many water supplies. Water that emerges from this process is considered too pure, so it will be conditioned to return important minerals and adjust the pH and alkalinity to meet the specifications of different end users. At LAX terminals, the water will be used for toilet flushing and cooling in the central utility plant. But innovation doesn't stop here and in the drive towards 100 per cent recycling, and projects outlined in One Water LA 2040, Hyperion plans to explore new applications for its wastewater. "We want to explore options for indirect potable reuse, producing water that can be injected into groundwater aquifers then extracted as drinking water, or direct potable use, if the regulations are amended to permit it," Emami concludes. LA Sanitation wants to recycle 100 per cent of wastewater at Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant by 2027, significantly reducing the amount of wastewater that is discharged into Santa Monica Bay