Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility

WORLD CLASS LEADER IN WATER REUSE

The Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility

West Basin's transformation from imported water wholesaler to a leader in conservation and water recycling can be traced back to California's severe drought period between the late '80s and early '90s. In 1992, West Basin received state and federal funding to design and build a world-class, state-of-the-art water recycling treatment facility in the City of El Segundo, with its own visitor’s education center. The facility produces 30 million gallons of water every day, conserving enough drinking water to meet the needs of 60,000 households for a year. West Basin’s Water Recycling Facility also houses a 60,000 square foot solar power generating system that has reduced emissions of carbon dioxide by over 356 tons in one year’s time. These emissions reductions are equivalent to planting nearly 100 acres of trees or not driving 890,007 miles. To date, nearly a half billion dollars in local, state, and federal funds have been invested in this effort.

Reused Water Tailored To Our Customers

The Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility (ELWRF) is the largest water recycling facility of its kind in the United States and was recognized by the National Water Research Institute in 2002 as one of only six National Centers for Water Treatment Technologies. The ELWRF is the only treatment facility in the country that produces five different qualities of "designer" or custom-made recycled water that meet the unique needs of West Basin’s municipal, commercial and industrial customers.

The five types of designer water include:

• Tertiary Water (Title 22) for a wide variety of industrial and irrigation uses;
• Nitrified Water for industrial cooling towers;
• Softened Reverse Osmosis Water: Secondary treated wastewater purified by micro-filtration (MF), followed by reverse osmosis (RO), and disinfection for groundwater recharge;
• Pure Reverse Osmosis Water for refinery low-pressure boiler feed water; and
• Ultra-Pure Reverse Osmosis Water for refinery high-pressure boiler feed water.

Environmental Benefits

In addition to reducing our dependence on imported water and increasing reliability in our water supply, West Basin’s recycled water production reduces the amount of treated sewage dumped into Santa Monica Bay by 50 tons a day.

Working with the Water Replenishment District, West Basin supplies 75% of the water injected into the West Coast Groundwater Barrier, conserving 5,000 acre-feet of water each year. Our mutual goal is to increase that amount to 100% by 2009. For more information about the Groundwater Barrier, click here.

The solar power generated at this facility supplies 10% of our peak energy needs. Click here to see the ‘live’ solar power production meter for the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility.

Location:

1935 S. Hughes Way, El Segundo, CA. 

(310) 414-0183