Evaluation and Comparison of TDS Reduction Processes for Fast-Tracked and Long-Term Upgrades of WWTP in Southern California

The City of Victorville, CA in the high desert region of southern California built a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to support both municipal and industrial users. The plant uses a sophisticated combination of technologies to pretreat high-strength industrial wastewater before it is combined with the sanitary flows and both are treated to California’s Title 22 water reuse standards. This recycled water was intended to be used at a nearby power plant, however, the WWTP has been experiencing higher than expected total dissolved solids (TDS), making the effluent unsuitable for use at the power plant. Victorville needed a solution to reduce TDS that could be implemented quickly without interrupting normal operations and a long-term solution that could permanently solve the problem with lower operating costs. This paper will outline the criteria Victorville used during their technology selection for short-term and long-term treatment.