Desalination being reactivated in Santa Barbara

Bidders vie for reactivation project

Water Desalination Report (WDR)-Mar 31, 2014

... to the reactivation of the City of Santa Barbara's SWRO facility. ... for the rehabilitated 3,125 AFY (10,560 m3/d) seawater desalination plant, ...

The Guardian

The Water Crisis Is a Policy Crisis

Santa Barbara Independent-Mar 27, 2014

One reactivated desal plant, of course, is insufficient to take us through any long-term drought. Santa Barbara's water emergency reflects a larger crisis affecting ... aquifer recharge, and groundwater and marine desalinization.

 

Bidders vie for reactivation project

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Three consulting teams submitted proposals to provide professional services related to the reactivation of the City of Santa Barbara’s SWRO facility. The three-phase project will include determining the production capacity and technology for the rehabilitated 3,125 AFY (10,560 m³/d) seawater desalination plant, developing performance specifications for contractors to undertake the work and assisting the City in the bid evaluation and contract award.
According to Josh Haggmark, the City’s acting water re-sources manager, bids were received from:

• Carollo Engineers
• RBF, with GHD
• SPI Engineering

He said that all three firms have been considered to be ‘qualified’ to undertake the project and that the City will conduct bidder interviews next Tuesday, 8 April, in anticipation of awarding a contract by mid-May.
The original plant was commissioned in March 1992, but was mothballed when the drought ended, after operating for less than two months. The City has continued to maintain the plant, and has kept all permits up-to-date, so that it could be reactivated if an additional water supply is necessary.
If the current drought continues, a contract award for project design could take place in March 2015. However, the City’s staff recommends deferring the substantial cost of the facility’s reactivation for as long as reasonably possible, depending on water consumption and supply factors.
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Bidders vie for reactivation project