The system, designed to be used during the dry months, produces a flow rate of 587 gpm (3,200 m3/d).
H2O Innovation, in a design-build collaboration with CDM Smith, designed, manufactured and commissioned a containerized water treatment system for Cambria. H2O Innovation’s scope of supply for this project included six shipping containers housing ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) systems to treat a mix of brackish water, fresh water and secondary effluent.
To treat such water, the filtration scheme starts with a pre-filtration strainer followed by a UF system. Following the UF system are two reverse osmosis trains while a third RO train further processes the concentrate of the first two RO trains to achieve an overall recovery of 92 percent, the company says.
The chemical dosing systems and the SCADA room are mounted in independent containers, which offer the operator a comfortable environment to work in, the company says.
Once fully treated, the water is compliant with indirect potable reuse regulations and is injected into a groundwater basin at the San Simeon Well Field to replenish the San Rosa Creek and San Simeon Creek aquifers that serve as fresh water sources for Cambria.
Three months after receiving the order, H2O Innovation delivered the equipment on site. Four weeks later treated water was available.
The Cambria project is nominated at the Global Water Summit for desalination project of the year. Winner will be announced at the Summit in Athens this coming August.
In other measures to conserve water during California’s drought, San José’s Environmental Services Department is making recycled water from its South Bay Water Recycling system available at truck fill stations in San José and Milpitas. And businesses in the state including San Diego Gas & Electric and Bank of America are saving millions of gallons a year with water-wise landscaping.
