Long Beach Water Department Files U.S. Patent on Breakthrough Technology that has the Potential to Significantly Reduce the Cost of Seawater Desalination

LONG BEACH, CA - On Thursday, May 2, 2002, the Long Beach Water Department filed a patent application with the United States Patent Office on breakthrough desalination technology developed by the Department's Deputy General Manager, Diem Vuong. The technology has the potential to reduce the cost of seawater desalination by 20% to 30%. Long Beach is the only water agency in the United States with patent pending desalination technology.

The Long Beach Water Department has been at the forefront of desalination for the past several years. The Department has been successfully operating a 9,000 gallon-per-day desalination pilot plant for the past six months. The new technology demonstrates a significant reduction in the amount of energy used in more traditional desalination methods.

"We believe that seawater desalination is indeed a viable future water supply for Southern California," stated Charles Parks, President of the Board of Water Commissioners. "We look forward to working cooperatively with the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to further develop this technology."