Southern California s Salinity Management Study in a Time of Drought Irvine, CA February 26, 2015
Bureau of Reclamation The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.
Bureau of Reclamation
Lower Colorado Region
Southern California Area Challenges Providing Water for Future Needs Salinity Control for Effective Water Management Brine Concentrate Management Environmental Needs Implementing the Colorado River Plan Implementing CALFED/Bay Delta Tribal Needs
Water Supply Challenges Adapted from Du Pont PERMASEP Permeators Water quality Salinity Management Population growth Increased Water Demands Endangered species Climate change
Future Southern CA Water Supply Portfolio New Water Supplies Seawater/Brackish Water Desalination Reclaimed Water Projects Storm water Augmentation Improved Use of Existing Supplies Water Conservation Ground/Surface Water Conjunctive Use Watershed/Integrated Resources Plans Reallocation of Existing Water Water Banking/Water Transfers Indian Water Right Settlements
Effluent Discharge and Brine/Concentrate Pipelines
Groundwater Desalter, Ion Exchange, and Desalination Facility Locations
Reclamation Programs Colorado River Basin Project Water Master Water Quality TDS Levels Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 Title I Yuma Desalt Plant Title 2 Upper Colorado Salinity Project Title XVI Water Recycling and Reclamation Water Desalination Desalination and Water Purification Research & Development (DWPR) Program Research
Recent Reclamation Research Development of advanced technologies to treat previously unusable sources of water in order to increase usable water supplies Brackish groundwater Coastal waters Irrigation drainage Municipal wastewater Other impaired waters Focus on two primary efforts Support of cooperative research to move forward Conduct development and demonstration activities to field-test technological advances, confirm economics, and gain public acceptance
Potential Gains Through Improved Technology Research Beneficiaries Rural and Indian drinking water Metropolitan areas Industries requiring pure water High value agriculture Replace stream water diverted to environmental purposes Sources Brackish surface and ground water Seawater Produced water Agricultural return flows
Potential Desalination Benefits Provides additional water supply to meet existing and projected demands Local control over water supplies Replacing water lost from other sources and relieving drought conditions Enhancing water reliability and supplying high quality potable water Reducing groundwater overdraft and restoring use of polluted ground water Replacing water that can be used for river and stream ecosystem restoration
Challenges Facing Implementation of Desalination Cost of construction - primarily seawater desalt Cost of energy Site specific environmental impacts Brine concentrate disposal site specific Ecological impacts of entrainment - seawater Ecological Impacts of impingement seawater Limited Federal and State funding Need for pilot plants to test in place pre-treatment processes Existing laws, regulations, and regulatory agency practices
Colorado River Salinity Damage Model
Purpose of the Model: Provide a means to estimate quantifiable salinity damages in the Lower Colorado River Basin. Provide a means to estimate the benefits of salinity reductions from the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program.
AGRICULTURAL AREAS Arizona Central Arizona Project Yuma County La Paz County Impact Areas URBAN AREAS (M&I) Arizona Maricopa County/Phoenix Pima County/Tucson Yuma County California Imperial County Riverside County (non MWD) MWD Service Areas - Los Angeles County - Orange County - San Bernardino County - San Diego County - W. Riverside County Nevada Clark County/Las Vegas California MWD Service Areas - Los Angeles County - Orange County - San Bernardino County - San Diego County - W. Riverside County Other L.Colorado River Areas
Damage Categories HOUSE HOLDS Water Pipe Water Heater Faucet Garbage Grinder Clothes Washer Dishwasher Bottled Water Water Softener Detergent AGRICULTURE Strawberry Nursery Cut Flower Misc. Vegetable Citrus Avocado Vineyard Pasture/Grain Deciduous Field COMMERCIAL Sanitary Cooling Irrigation Kitchen Laundry Misc. GROUNDWATER Direct Recharge Indirect Recharge Incidental Recharge INDUSRTIAL Process Water Cooling Tower Boiler Sanitation Irrigation WATER UTILITIES Treatment Plant Distribution system RECYCLED WATER Irrigation Direct Groundwater Recharge Indirect Groundwater Recharge
Example of Model Estimating Future Impacts 2011 Projected Salinity Levels Lower Colorado River Basin Salinity levels (TDS): Hoover Dam = 581 Parker Dam = 599 Imperial Dam = 698
Salinity Damage Model Assumptions and Conditions Model Updated to 2008 $ population estimates (2005) and projections out to 2030 500 TDS Baseline, 2011 TDS estimates Sectors: Annual Damages ($ millions) Agricultural $156.7 Households $76.7 Commercial $17.4 Industrial $11.8 Water Utilities $10.4 Policy (Groundwater and Recycled) $16.8 Total Damages $289.8
Colorado River Salinity Control Program Based on current program implementation, potential annual salinity damages in the year 2030 could be as high as $523.5 million. Based on implementation of additional projects, potential annual salinity damages in 2030 could be as high as $405.7 million. Potential annual benefits from additional projects could as high as $117.8 million
Research/Additional Work Cooperative effort between Reclamation, Metropolitan Water District of Sothern California, Colorado River Salinity Forum, and Southern California Salinity Coalition: Update the current model. Research /develop new salinity damage functions for sectors in the model.
Thank You QUESTIONS?? 951-695-5310 wsteele@usbr.gov