LBPOST.com: LB Water Desalinization Project Receives $3 Million In Stimulus Funding

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LB Water Desalinization Project Receives $3 Million In Stimulus Funding

by Ryan ZumMallen | Long Beach News | 07.01.09 |

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Whenever the word "desalinization" comes to my mind, I picture a giant spaghetti strainer being dipped into the Pacific Ocean and sifting out all the salt as the clean, drinkable water falls into our waiting faucets below.� I know enough about the process to know that it is infinitely more complex than that, but apparently the result is similar. Today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act announced it will send $3 million in stimulus funding to the Long Beach Water Department to continue their desalinization efforts in the middle of California's worst water shortage.� That'll buy a lot of spaghetti strainers.

The desalinization project to convert seawater into drinkable water has been viewed as a progressive and innovative attempt for conservation during a statewide water shortage. The press release is provided below as we continue to follow the story:

Today, the United States Department of Interior announced that the Long Beach Water Department will receive $3,006,005 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the Long Beach Desalination Project. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Bureau of Reclamation has identified 27 water reclamation and reuse projects that will share in a total of $134.3 million under ARRA. These water projects � known as �Title XVI� projects for the title of Public Law 102-575 that established the program � facilitate the reclamation and reuse of wastewater and naturally impaired ground and surface waters.

According to a Department of Interior press release, the $134.3 million for these projects is part of President Barack Obama�s $1 billion investment of ARRA funding provided by the Department of the Interior for water projects across the West. In April, Secretary Salazar announced an additional $260 million in ARRA funding to address California�s current drought conditions and to meet the state�s long-term water supply infrastructure needs. Today�s announcement brings total funding for California water-related activities funding under the Interior portion of ARRA to $381 million.

These 27 projects team non-federal sponsors with local communities and the federal government to provide growing communities with new sources of clean water while promoting water and energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Federal funding will be leveraged to construct a total of more than $675 million in Title XVI projects, according to the Department of Interior.

The funding that will be received by the Long Beach Water Department will be used for the optimization of a 300,000 gallon-per-day seawater desalination prototype facility, primarily for on-the-ground installation of various types of nano filtration membranes; construction of testing facilities to address post-treatment strategies; and pipeline removal and site restoration as part of the testing, pilot, and demonstration of under ocean floor seawater intake and discharge facilities.

The Long Beach Desalination Project is the largest project of its kind in the United States. In partnership with the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Long Beach has constructed a 300,000 gallon-per-day desalination facility and an under ocean floor intake and discharge demonstration system to undertake the most extensive, innovative research on seawater desalination being done anywhere at this time. Long Beach research is focused on cost-effective, environmentally responsive desalination operations.

Disclosure: The Long Beach Water Department is an advertiser of the LBPOST.com.

Related Stories: Stimulus, Long Beach Water Department, Desalinization

Comments

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Mary E. Barton
What tremendous news for Long Beach, especially in our drought! Congratulations to the team at the Water Department for conceiving this project, recognizing its potential, and persevering to make it work!

Bill Orton
It is heartening to hear that the Obama Administration is rewarding the Long Beach Water Department for their visionary work in the development of desalination that is both less expensive and more environmental sensitive. Creating drinking water from the sea is a gift to a region and world where thirst will drive policy and politics for the rest of time. I cheer the city for its longstanding commitment to responsible desalination and congratulate the Water Department for this recognition and funding.

Brett Howard
This is amazing. I was following the work that was being done with the under ocean intake/discharge system. The applications of this are limitless. Who knows, if we can make that water drinkable, we may even be able to swim in it someday!

Bob Schilling
This looks like great use of Stimulus money. A sustainable water supply is vital to Long Beach -- and the rest of California. That California would get nearly $400 million statewide is truly good news. It will benefit all of us for years to come.

a
How will this stimulate the economy?

Ceebs
Again, I would like to ask why we're investing so much in such an energy intensive, unproven technology? Orange County already has a "toilet to tap" water reclamation system in place to reuse water that does not contain salt, is able to clean it so well that they have to put minerals back into it as it is so pure, and is able to pump thousands of gallons of clean water back into their reservoirs and water table. Their project is already up and running in Fountain Valley while LA County is wasting federal dollars on an unproven pipe dream and at least 10 years behind.

chateaux6
That is great news. Where will the plant be located?

Long Beach Water
Mr/Ms. Ceebs: We are investing in seawater desalination R&D because it is absolutely the future, but is energy intensive, among other factors, which makes it a less cost-effective option for local water supply reliability then other available substitutes, such as ground water, imported water. However, before you begin looking at seawater desalination as an alternative, you ought to be maximizing conservation and reclamation, among other things. As far as proven technology...reverse osmosis technology is used around the world to desalinate seawater, among other uses. In fact, there are nearly 20,000 desal plants worldwide.

Haiku Frank
Where is the outrage Of government earmark from Okie Tom Coburn?

Steven Barth
Thanks for this posting but we need more analysis than an introductory paragraph and a copy of the press release. I am also excited about this development because we in Southern California have completely ignored the water issue for decades. However, the desalination process takes an enormous amount of energy and therefore creates an enormous amount of pollution. How about some links to this info if you don't have the time to present a balanced analysis? The Post will not be the future of media without it!

Long Beach News

LBPOST.com Managing Editor Ryan ZumMallen keeps up on all the current and breaking Long Beach news.

Ryan ZumMallen is a graduate of the CSULB School of Journalism, writing for the campus' Union Weekly newspaper and serving as Sports Editor for one year. He has written for numerous news and sports websites and magazines, as well as television experience with Fox Sports and ABC Channel 7.