Introduction

When the City of Oxnard decided to build the 7.5 MGD (28.4 Mld) Reverse Osmosis desalination plant they contracted directly with Biwater AEWT to design and supply the reverse osmosis system.

The Biwater AEWT plant utilizes Reverse Osmosis technology to produce high-quality potable water that will be blended with Oxnard’s local groundwater sources for customer delivery. Initially, the desalter will be capable of producing 7.5 million gallons per day with an ultimate capacity of 15 million gallons per day.

 

The G.R.E.A.T Desalter plant is the first plant of three that are planned by the City of Oxnard's "Groundwater Recovery, Enhancement And Treatment" scheme.

Environmental Responsibility

In its effort towards environmental stewardship, the city incorporated “GreenBuilding” elements into the design of the desalter. This includes a stormwater runoff collection system for onsite irrigation of California Friendly plants, solar panels which generate enough power to meet the electrical requirements for normal building functions.

During construction 50% of demolition and construction debris was recycled or salvaged.

 

Biwater AEWT’s innovative system design, incorporating efficient energy recovery devices, the city has been awarded a grant from Southern California Edison electricity company.

 

The desalter has also earned the distinction of being Oxnard’s first project to be awarded as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building under the United States Green Building Council program.

Reverse Osmosis System

 

The 3 x 2.5 MGD Membrane Trains each consists of 69 Pressure Vessels with 7 membrane elements per vessel. Each Train  The entire plant has required a total of 207 Pressure Vessels and 1,449  8 inch Reverse Osmosis Membrane Elements.

 

Each train consists of two stages and is capable of producing a total permeate flow of 2.5 million gallons per day (mgd) at 80% recovery.

 

All trains are identical, but can be operated independently to provide greater operating flexibility. There are three (3) trains installed, totaling 7.5 mgd permeate design capacity based on a maximum system flux of 13.1 gfd.

The system is design to treat a feedwater TDS of 1390 mg/l, with a Total Hardness of 664 mg/l to a permeate quality of less than 54 mg/l and 14mg/l, respectively.

Biwater AEWT has installed or has currently under construction over 421 MGD (1,594 Mld) membrane treatment capacity worldwide.