City of Long Beach, California, USA – Operating Groundwater Augmentation supplying the Alamitos Seawater Barrier and large areas of Los Angeles County

The Leo J. Vander Lans Advanced Water Purification Facility (LVL) is located in the City of Long Beach and provides purified water for injection at the Alamitos Seawater Barrier in Long Beach, playing a vital role in protecting the Central Groundwater Basin from seawater intrusion. In addition, this high-quality water replenishes the groundwater supply.

The Water Replenishment District built LVL in 2003 and expanded it in 2014 to produce up to 8 million gallons (30 million liters) per day of indirect potable reuse water. Most recently, Water Replenishment District is constructing a new inland injection well to use any extra water from the LVL facility and augment the Central Basin. This project will add to the local water supplies for the 4 million residents in Water Replenishment District’s service area.

LVL receives Title 22 (tertiary treated recycled water) from the adjacent Los Angeles County Sanitation District’s Long Beach Water Reclamation Plant. The water is then further treated at LVL with a 3-stage process that includes microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light with advanced oxidation before delivery to the Alamitos Barrier. The Alamitos Barrier is one of three barriers in southern Los Angeles County that Water Replenishment District supplies recycled water to.

Prior to LVL and its expansion, Water Replenishment District relied totally or partially on imported water from Northern California or the Colorado River to meet the demand at the Alamitos Barrier. Now that LVL can produce 8 million gallons (30 million litres) of advanced treated water per day, the Alamitos Barrier can be independent of imported water, making it drought-resilient and locally sustainable.

The completion of the LVL expansion was a piece of Water Replenishment District’s Water Independence Now (WIN) program which created a locally sustainable supply for all of Water Replenishment District’s groundwater replenishment needs.

https://www.wrd.org/wrd-leo-j-vander-lans-advanced-water-treatment-facility

Related resources:

Leo J. Vander Lans Advanced Water Treatment Facility – Brochure