The Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) have awarded Envirogen Technologies, Inc. a contract for the design and supply of a new biological fluidized bed reactor (FBR) system, located at the City of Vernon. More detailed information of the project is provided in this WRD factsheet link.
The new FBR system will address significant perchlorate contamination from four deep groundwater extraction wells that are among the highest in the State of California, approaching 4,000 parts-per-billion (ppb). Perchlorate concentrations will be reduced, following the FBR treatment, to less than 4 ppb, significantly below the State Maximum Contaminant (SMC) Level for drinking water.
Envirogen excels as an industry leader, employing cutting-edge fluidized bed reactor technology. Envirogen’s FBR is an active water treatment system that utilizes microbiological processes to treat nitrate and perchlorate contaminated groundwater. Remediation of these contaminants by Envirogen’s FBR system transforms polluted water to potable-like water quality that can be discharged to the storm sewer system.
The perchlorate mass removal from the aquifer system will have a beneficial effect and prevent ‘hot spot’ concentrations from migrating further into the groundwater basin and potentially impacting municipal water supply wells in an around the City of Vernon.
The full-scale fluidized bed reactor, which has a 7.5-foot diameter and is 20 feet tall, is expected to be commissioned in Q3, 2022. All ancillary equipment, such as fluidization pumps, the control panel, and chemical feed systems, will be housed in a container to protect the equipment from the elements. Envirogen’s experienced engineering and service team will provide oversight during equipment installation, and will provide full technical support during mechanical shakedown, hydraulic testing, and start-up. In addition, Envirogen personnel have been contracted to provide the long-term operation of the complete water treatment plant.
Todd Webster, Ph.D., P.E., Vice President, Envirogen, highlights:
“The Los Angeles Forebay project is the culmination of a three-year collaborative effort with WRD and their A&E firms. It draws upon Envirogen’s extensive record in delivering over forty (40) similar fluidized bed reactor designs and installations and provides a solution that’s reliable, robust, and has the lowest life-cycle treatment costs.”
About Water Replenishment District
WRD is the largest groundwater agency in the State of California, managing and protecting local groundwater resources for four million residents. WRD’s service area covers a 420-square-mile region of southern Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The 43 cities in the service area, including a portion of the City of Los Angeles, use about 220,000 acre-feet (72 billion gallons) of groundwater annually which accounts for approximately 40% of the region’s water supply.
EPA Technical Fact Sheet – Perchlorate
Perchlorate: physical and chemical properties, potential environmental and health impacts, existing federal and state guidelines, detection and treatment methods, additional information. For more information, refer to this EPA Technical Fact Sheet.
Envirogen FBR Systems: How does a fluidized bed reactor work?
Envirogen is an industry leader in the use of bioreactor technology, with over 40 FBR systems installed worldwide and several projects under development. The Envirogen fluidized bed reactor is a proprietary biological water treatment system deployed to remove organics or oxyanions (i.e., nitrate, selenium, perchlorate) from water. See how it works here:
How does a fluidized bed reactor work? An overview of Envirogen’s patented FBR treatment process/fluidized bed reactor design. (US Patents: 6706521, 5750028, 5788842, 7754159, 7611890, 7572626, 8323496, 6830922).
