Long Beach Water Department Signs Agreement with U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to Fund Seawater Desalination Research and Development

LONG BEACH, CA – On September 9, 2002, the Long Beach Water Department signed a Cooperative Agreement with the United States Bureau of Reclamation to begin design and construction of a prototype desalination plant in Long Beach, California. The federal cost-sharing agreement includes the design and construction of a $5.3 million prototype desalination plant.

The Long Beach Water Department has developed an innovative process for desalting seawater using membrane technology. This patent pending process has been tested on a small scale for nearly one year, and is now ready for studies to determine the feasibility of constructing a full-scale desalination plant. “Our technology has been shown to be 20 to 30 percent more energy efficient than more widely used methods,” stated Kevin Wattier, General Manager. “ With continued research and development of new innovations by this Department, and the building of strategic funding partnerships like this one, desalination is made more and more affordable.”

The Department’s funding and research partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation includes the design and construction of a prototype desalination plant that will be used to demonstrate the viability of the process, identify the optimum pretreatment process, optimize power consumption, and address brine disposal issues, among other things. In addition, thorough environmental studies will be conducted in order to comply with strict state and federal environmental quality regulations.

“The main purpose of this agreement with the federal government is to perform the studies necessary to determine the feasibility of a full scale desalination plant,” stated Matt Lyons, the Department’s Seawater Desalination Program Manager. “Under this Agreement the federal government could provide up to 50 percent of the project’s total cost.” Design of the Department’s prototype plant will begin next month, and will be located at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Haynes Generation Station located in southeast Long Beach.