The Santa Ana Regional Interceptor
A Quality Solution
For
detailed information about SARI including applications and instructions
for dischargers, click here.
Many factors impact the quality of water delivered to the ultimate consumer:
the quality of the source water itself, how and where it is used - and
reused. One factor affecting the quality of water for the four million
water users in the Santa Ana Watershed is the adverse salt balance that
exists in the basin. An adverse salt balance, or high TDS (Total Dissolved
Solids), is the result of more minerals or salts entering a watershed
than going out. Salt is added to the Santa Ana River watershed by fertilizers
and chemicals, and by the import of water with higher levels of salt.
In addition, municipal, industrial, and agricultural wastes increase
the salt imbalance, as does water re-use. Within the Santa Ana River watershed,
water is used at least twice before ultimate disposal to the ocean. These
water uses concentrate the salts with each use. Typically, each use adds
200-300 mg/L TDS. TDS begin to interfere with the use of water somewhere
between 500 and 1,000 mg/L. At 1,000 mg/L, water is brackish and unusable.
Salt
is a costly problem for all water users: residential, commercial, industrial,
agricultural, groundwater and recycling programs, and water utility distribution
systems. Salinity makes laundry detergents work less effectively, plumbing
fixtures and home appliances wear out faster, and industrial users incur
extra treatment costs for cooling towers, boilers, and manufacturing processes.
At high enough levels, taste begins to be affected. Recycling and compliance
with state and federal wastewater discharge permits becomes difficult
to accomplish. Vegetation can experience restricted growth and reduced
crop yield. Disposal of high saline waste can also be costly. In the Santa
Ana watershed, discharge of high saline wastewater to the municipal sewer
system may result in violation of waste discharge permits, resulting in
fines for municipal wastewater treatment operations and the industries
that create the waste stream.
THE SOLUTIONS
There are real solutions to the problem of salt imbalance in the Santa
Ana River watershed.
IMPORT OF LOW-SALINE WATER- One solution that has been ongoing for the
past 20 years is transition from use of high salinity import water to
lower salinity water. In 1956, Western, as a member agency of the Metropolitan
Water District, began importing Colorado River water to western Riverside
County to supplement diminishing local supplies. While the water provided
needed relief to groundwater overdraft in the basin, it also brought a
high level of minerals and salts.
In 1979, water from the State Water Project in Northern California became
available to the watershed. This water is much lower in salt levels than
Colorado River water. Today, about 75% of the imported water supplies
that Western brings into the watershed are from Northern California via
the State Water Project.
DESALINATION
- While the import of low TDS water helps alleviate the salt problem,
added salts must also be extracted from the water before it is put back
into the re-use cycle. One option for removing salts from the water is
desalination. The Arlington Desalter, located in Riverside, has been in
operation since 1990 and can desalt approximately six million gallons
of groundwater daily.
The Santa Ana Regional Interceptor - For commercial and industrial water
users whose processes create a high-saline waste stream, discharging these
wastes to a dedicated source helps prevent the degradation of water quality
caused by salt build-up. The Santa Ana Regional Interceptor (SARI) was
built for just that purpose. The SARI line provides industrial users in
the Santa Ana watershed with an environmentally-friendly and convenient
way to dispose of high saline waste. This helps industry meet discharge
requirements and keeps added salts out of the municipal sewer systems
and, therefore, out of the watershed.
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