Orange County Water District to Be Part of National Science Foundation Center on Water Purification Technologies.Business Editors/Environment Writers FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2003 OCWD OCWD Orange County Water District Receives $495,000 as Part of Research Team with Stanford University, University of Illinois University of Illinois may refer to:
Orange County Water District Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages the large groundwater basin that provides reliable, high-quality groundwater to 20 cities and water agencies and their 2.3 million customers in north and central Orange County, CA. (OCWD) is part of a team selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF NSF - National Science Foundation ) to perform research on purification of water. The team includes Stanford University, University of Illinois, and Clark Atlanta University. The research conducted by these institutions will focus on the development of advanced materials and systems to increase and improve the world's potable potable /pot·a·ble/ (po´tah-b'l) fit to drink. po·ta·ble adj. Fit to drink; drinkable. potable fit to drink. (drinkable) water supplies. These institutions were brought together under the umbrella of the new NSF Center for Advanced Materials for Purification of Water with Systems. The goal of the center is to bring together top education and research centers around the United States to address pressing problems in water purification. OCWD's Research and Development Department will work together with researchers at Stanford University's Terman School of Engineering and will use its reverse osmosis reverse osmosis n. The movement of a solvent in the opposite direction from osmosis in such a manner that the solvent moves from a solution of greater concentration through a membrane to a solution of lesser concentration. membrane testing facilities to evaluate the performance of new membrane materials. Reverse osmosis membranes are of increasing importance for seawater seawater Water that makes up the oceans and seas. Seawater is a complex mixture of 96.5% water, 2.5% salts, and small amounts of other substances. Much of the world's magnesium is recovered from seawater, as are large quantities of bromine. desalination desalination or desalting Removal of dissolved salts from seawater and from the salty waters of inland seas, highly mineralized groundwaters, and municipal wastewaters. and water recycling and are commonly used by commercial water companies to make bottled water out of tap water. OCWD will receive $99,000 per year, renewable for five years, to test reverse osmosis membranes for fouling by biological processes, resistance to chemical reactions and removal of contaminants of concern in drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. . Globally, water use is increasing due to development and improved standards of living. Populations continue to grow while our global water supplies remain relatively constant. Many fear a future global water crisis. In this environment, expanding and improving water purification membrane technology will help us to better reuse and increase the efficiency of our water supplies. "This is extremely important work," said Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Bilodeau, president of the Orange County Water District Board of Directors. "I am pleased that the National Science Foundation is relying on OCWD's 25 years of membrane research experience to test the next generation of experimental water purification membranes." OCWD is the only water utility in the United States involved in the NSF Center. This NSF research will help to reduce the energy requirements for future reverse osmosis water purification; provide ways to slow the process that clogs the membranes; produce membranes that last longer; improve the membranes' effectiveness in removing trace amounts of low molecular weight organic compounds; and also develop advanced reverse osmosis membrane materials that may have short-term practical industrial applications. Other benefits of this research could be the development of more efficient membranes that will lower the operation and maintenance costs and increase the volume of pure water produced by the membranes. OCWD has been using and testing reverse osmosis membranes since the mid-1970s when the technology was first applied for water purification at its Water Factory 21 advanced treatment plant in Fountain Valley. A new, improved generation of reverse osmosis membranes will be used by OCWD in a new wastewater purification plant, called the Groundwater Replenishment System, which will begin producing water in 2007 and will be the largest of its kind in the nation. The Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages and protects the huge groundwater basin underlying north and central Orange County. OCWD is a special district, separate from the County of Orange or any city government. The California Legislature created it in 1933 to oversee Orange County's groundwater basin. The groundwater basin supplies more than half of the water needs for 2.3 million residents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda. To learn more about water log on to www.ocwd.com. |
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