January 2018
Terminal Island Water Reclamation Plant Expansion Named Best of the Best by ENR
LOS ANGELES - Engineering News-Record (ENR) has named the Terminal Island Water Reclamation Plant Advanced Water Purification Facility Expansion as the Best of the Best Water/Environment Project for 2017. The award is part of ENR's Best of the Best Projects competition that saw over 700 entries for a variety of design and construction categories. Terminal Island project team members include:
- Owner: Los Angeles Sanitation
- Design Firm/Civil/Structural/MEP Engineer: Bureau of Engineering-Environmental Engineering Division
- General Contractor: Walsh Construction
- Project Engineer: Carollo Engineers Inc
The design-build team, led by Walsh Construction, completed the expansion that increases total wastewater treatment capacity to produce 12 MGD of high-quality water for groundwater replenishment and reuse.
This innovative facility takes wastewater that would have been discharged into a nearby harbor and cleans the water using advanced water purification technology including microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and an advanced oxidation process (AOP). The AOP uses ultraviolet light and sodium hypochlorite (industrial-strength bleach) to provide disinfection for the entire facility. One advantage of the AOP is the disinfection of almost all contaminants without creating more pollution.
The cleaned water will be used nearby at the Dominguez Gap Barrier to protect groundwater reservoirs from seawater intrusion, at the Harbor Golf Course for irrigation, by recycled water customers for cooling water or other industrial applications, and will potentially replenish Machado Lake.
Increased water shortages are projected within the next 10 years in tandem with increased population growth and environmental footprints. These advanced water treatment technologies will assist in providing more high-quality water supply while decreasing the potable water demand from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. This ultimate expansion project will lead to reusing all effluent and ceasing discharges to the nearby harbor to comply with future NPDES requirements.
In the March 2017 Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering newsletter, Mayor Garcetti stated, “...saving water is as important as ever. This new facility is a bold investment that will help us save drinking water, expand our use of recycled water, and become a more sustainable city for generations to come.”
The Walsh team designed the expansion to integrate seamlessly with the existing advanced water treatment systems and into the existing plant footprint while minimizing any impacts to existing operations during tie-ins and shut-downs. Walsh is completing this complex and innovative expansion under the original budget.
