brine management

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High-Salinity Sensitivity Study: Short-and Long-Term Exposure Assessments
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High-Salinity Sensitivity Study: Short-and Long-Term Exposure Assessments
State Water Resources Control Board | April 12, 2013...
Summary
The West Basin Municipal Water District (WBMWD) High Salinity Sensitivity Study (HSS Study) comprehensively evaluated the potential short-term and long-term exposure effects of...
The West Basin Municipal Water District (WBMWD) High Salinity Sensitivity Study (HSS Study) comprehensively evaluated the potential short-term and long-term exposure effects of high salinity discharges from the WBMWD ocean water desalination demonstration facility (OWDDF) on aquatic organisms representative of communities indigenous to various near shore environments in Southern California.

Short-term effects were evaluated using Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) bioassays developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to quantify the magnitude and threshold of potential biological effects of discharges (e.g. treated wastewater). Both acute toxicity (mortality effects) and chronic toxicity (mortality + sublethal effects) bioassays were performed by a state accredited bioassay laboratory. Long-term effects were evaluated using mesocosm procedures performed at the OWDDF by exposing multiple organisms for eight weeks to ambient seawater and diluted brine flows from the OWDDF in large aquaria constructed to simulate the OWDDF discharge environment.

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Hyper-Salinity Toxicity Thresholds for Nine California Ocean Plan Toxicity Test Protocols
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Hyper-Salinity Toxicity Thresholds for Nine California Ocean Plan Toxicity Test Protocols
California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | July 1, 2012...
Summary
A growing number of coastal cities in California are exploring the potential for ocean desalination as a means to augment freshwater supplies. There...
A growing number of coastal cities in California are exploring the potential for ocean desalination as a means to augment freshwater supplies. There are currently a number of desalination facilities proposed or operating in California. The process of desalination most commonly utilizes reverse osmosis (RO) to remove salts from groundwater, reclaimed water, and seawater. This process results in production of hypersaline reject brine. This reject brine may be discharged into the marine environment, sometimes in combination with discharge from a sewage treatment plant or power plant effluent. Typical RO reject brine produced using 100% seawater can have approximately twice the original salt content of seawater.

In order to ensure that brine discharges do not pose risk to coastal receiving waters, it is anticipated that desalination plants will be required to monitor effluent toxicity. Monitoring requirements will likely include testing for effluent toxicity using some combination of the short-term chronic toxicity test protocols listed in the 2009 California Ocean Plan (SWRCB, 2009).

While the tests listed in the Ocean Plan have been the subject of ongoing research, no comprehensive studies of the effects of hyper-salinity have been conducted with all seven toxicity test organisms (nine protocols when including sand dollar and urchin fertilization endpoints). The results from these tests will allow determination of the toxicity of hypersaline brine in the absence of any additional toxic constituents that may be produced during the desalination process. These results provide resource managers with background information to facilitate interpretation of toxicity test results from desalination plant effluent testing and permitting of desalination facilities. The results will also be used in the development of an amendment to the California Ocean Plan that addresses impacts to marine life from intakes and discharges from desalination facilities.

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Inland Empire Interceptor Appraisal Analysis
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Inland Empire Interceptor Appraisal Analysis
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | September 16, 2013...
Summary
The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) is a joint powers authority comprised of five member water districts that serve the vast majority...
The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) is a joint powers authority comprised of five member water districts that serve the vast majority of the Santa Ana Watershed. The area served by SAWPA is located within Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties of California, bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the San Bernardino Mountains to the north, and the San Jacinto Mountains to the east.

The five SAWPA Member Agencies are:

• Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD),
• Western Municipal Water District (WMWD),
• Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA),
• San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (SBVMWD), and
• Orange County Water District (OCWD).

These five agencies serve most of the Santa Ana Watershed. Population within the watershed has increased significantly in recent years, and this urban growth has put enormous pressure on the regional water supply, water quality and environmental/recreation resources.

SAWPA’s mission is to plan and build facilities to protect water quality and enhance the water supply within the Santa Ana River Watershed. This mission includes the goal of achieving a salt balance in the upper Santa Ana Watershed. SAWPA developed the Inland Empire Brine Line (Brine Line), which was formerly known as the Santa Ana Regional Interceptor (SARI), for the purpose of exporting salt from the Santa Ana Watershed. Exportation of salt prevents its accumulation in the watershed and protects the quality of the potable water supply. The future of the potable water supply will continue to be dependent upon an economical means of collection, treatment and disposal of brine. The Brine Line collects and disposes of brine flow from the Santa Ana Watershed and is critical to SAWPA’s mission success.

The Brine Line includes approximately 72 miles of pipeline in multiple branches which converge in the vicinity of Prado Dam near the City of Corona. It has a planned capacity of approximately 32.5 million gallons per day (MGD) and was planned for collection and exportation of approximately 271,000 tons of salt per year from the upper Santa Ana Watershed, east of the Santa Ana Mountains. Currently (2010 & 2011), average system flows are approximately 11.7 MGD and over 75,000 tons of salt are exported per year.

An additional 21 miles of pipeline convey the combined flows to Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) facilities for treatment and disposal by discharge to the Pacific Ocean. This pipeline has a nominal capacity of 30 MGD. The planned capacity of the Brine Line system (32.5 MGD) exceeds the hydraulic capacity of the pipeline from the Brine Line convergence near Prado Dam to the OCSD facilities. Furthermore, the present agreement between SAWPA and OCSD allows Brine Line flows to the OCSD system up to only 17.0 MGD, with a contractual right to purchase up to 30.0 MGD capacity.

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Key Issues in Seawater Desalination in California: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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Key Issues in Seawater Desalination in California: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Pacific Institute | May 1, 2013...
Summary
Interest in seawater desalination in California is high, with 17 plants proposed along the California coast and two in Mexico. But removing the...
Interest in seawater desalination in California is high, with 17 plants proposed along the California coast and two in Mexico. But removing the salt from seawater is an energy-intensive process that consumes more energy per gallon than most other water supply and treatment options. A new report from the Pacific Institute series Key Issues for Seawater Desalination in California describes the energy requirements and associated greenhouse gas emissions for desalinated water and evaluates the impact of short- and long-term energy price variability on the cost of desalinated water.

Energy requirements are key factors that will impact the extent and success of desalination in California. Key Issues for Seawater Desalination in California: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions shows energy requirements for seawater desalination average about 15,000 kWh per million gallons of water produced. By comparison, the least energy-intensive options of local sources of groundwater and surface water require 0 – 3,400 kWh per million gallons; wastewater reuse, depending on treatment levels, may require from 1,000 – 8,300 kWh per million gallons; and energy requirements for importing water through the State Water Project to Southern California range from 7,900 – 14,000 kWh per million gallons.

“Beyond the electricity required for the desalination facility itself, producing any new source of water, including through desalination, increases the amount of energy required to deliver and use the water produced as well as collect, treat, and dispose of the wastewater generated,” said Heather Cooley, co-director of the Pacific Institute Water Program and report author. Conservation and efficiency, by contrast, can help meet the anticipated needs associated with growth while maintaining or even reducing total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.”

Desalination is a reliable source of water, which can be especially valuable during a drought. However, building a desalination plant may reduce a water utility’s exposure to water reliability risks at the added expense of an increase in exposure to energy price risk. Energy is the largest single variable cost for a desalination plant, varying from one-third to more than one-half the cost of produced water. Because of its high energy use, desalination creates or increases the water supplier’s exposure to energy price variability.

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Management of Brine Discharges to Coastal Waters: Recommendations of a Science Advisory Panel
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Management of Brine Discharges to Coastal Waters: Recommendations of a Science Advisory Panel
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project | June 6, 2012...
Summary
A panel of five experts in diverse fields related to brine disposal in the ocean was convened to advise the State Water Resources...
A panel of five experts in diverse fields related to brine disposal in the ocean was convened to advise the State Water Resources Control Board on best practices for brine disposal in support of the development of an amendment to the Ocean Plan. The brine concentrates can result from desalination of brackish groundwater, recycling domestic wastewater, and especially desalination of seawater.

The potential of seawater desalination to provide potable water in the state is growing rapidly, with many plants currently proposed or in the planning stage. The state presently has no regulations on brine discharges and each plant is considered on a case-by-case basis.

The panel reviewed extensive material, including peer-reviewed journal articles, articles in the gray literature, NPDES permits that have been issued, various regulations from around the world, and results of monitoring studies, and heard presentations about experience with operating discharges. From these reviews it is apparent that concentrate can be disposed of with minimal environmental effects if properly executed. Desirable methods of discharge include co-disposal with heated cooling water from power plants or domestic wastewater, or from a multiport diffuser if “pure” brine is released.

Discharges with rapid initial dilution into areas of good flushing result in impacts that extend only a few tens of meters from the discharge. Conversely, poorly implemented disposal schemes with low initial dilution in poorly flushed areas can cause widespread alterations of community structure in seagrass, coral reef, and soft-sediment systems.

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Water Quality Control Plan for the Ocean Waters of California
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Water Quality Control Plan for the Ocean Waters of California
State Water Resources Control Board | August 4, 2016...
Summary
In furtherance of legislative policy set forth in section 13000 of Division 7 of the California Water Code (CWC) (Stats. 1969, Chap. 482)...
In furtherance of legislative policy set forth in section 13000 of Division 7 of the California Water Code (CWC) (Stats. 1969, Chap. 482) pursuant to the authority contained in section 13170 and 13170.2 (Stats. 1971, Chap. 1288) the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) hereby finds and declares that protection of the quality of the ocean waters for use and enjoyment by the people of the State requires control of the discharge of waste to ocean waters and control of intake seawater in accordance with the provisions contained herein.

The beneficial uses of the ocean waters of the State that shall be protected include industrial water supply; water contact and non-contact recreation, including aesthetic enjoyment; navigation; commercial and sport fishing; mariculture*; preservation and enhancement of designated Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS); rare and endangered species; marine habitat; fish migration; fish spawning and shellfish harvesting.

To check for any updates or amendments since this document was loaded into the library, please visit the State Water Resources Control Board's Ocean Plan page.

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High-Salinity Sensitivity Study: Short-and Long-Term Exposure Assessments

High-Salinity Sensitivity Study: Short-and Long-Term Exposure Assessments

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Hyper-Salinity Toxicity Thresholds for Nine California Ocean Plan Toxicity Test Protocols

Hyper-Salinity Toxicity Thresholds for Nine California Ocean Plan Toxicity Test Protocols

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Inland Empire Interceptor Appraisal Analysis

Inland Empire Interceptor Appraisal Analysis

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Key Issues in Seawater Desalination in California: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Key Issues in Seawater Desalination in California: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Management of Brine Discharges to Coastal Waters: Recommendations of a Science Advisory Panel

Management of Brine Discharges to Coastal Waters: Recommendations of a Science Advisory Panel

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Water Quality Control Plan for the Ocean Waters of California

Water Quality Control Plan for the Ocean Waters of California

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