Climate Change Could Increase 'Saltwater Intrusion'

Guest Blog By Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel, September 12, 2011 Summer rains can't wash away a growing underground threat to South Florida's water supply. Saltwater seeping in from the ocean keeps spreading farther west, threatening to foul underground freshwater supplies that provide most of South Florida's drinking water. "Saltwater intrusion" in South Florida has worsened through the decades as providing water and flood control for a growing population siphons away freshwater and allows more saltwater to seep into aquifers and well fields. Ninety percent of South Florida gets its drinking water from underground supplies, most from the Biscayne aquifer. Pumping too much water from underground supplies can allow saltwater to push in from the coast. Droughts can make saltwater intrusion worse as pumping to provide drinking water continues while rains don't come to replenish underground freshwater supplies. Now South Florida officials are projecting that sea-level rise due to climate change could increase the reach of saltwater that can make water from community wells undrinkable. That has city and county utilities along the southeast Florida coast exploring expensive alternatives, with costs passed along to ratepayers, to avoid getting cut off from freshwater. "It is still progressing westward," Hector Castro, Hallandale Beach public works and utilities director, said. "Eventually all coastal communities will deal with this in some way, shape or form." Hallandale Beach, Pompano Beach, Dania Beach, Lantana and Lake Worth are among local cities that in recent years have been most at risk from saltwater intrusion. But the line of saltwater spreading inland comes close to or reaches cities from Jupiter to Florida City, including West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Miami, according to theU.S. Geological Survey. Reducing well-field pumping, moving well fields farther inland and requiring utilities to pursue alternative water supplies have helped hold the line of saltwater intrusion in some areas and even push it back east. "It's a serious threat," said Pete Kwiatkowski, South Florida Water Management District water-shortage incident commander. "That saltwater front is very dynamic (and) it does shift." Six of the eight wells that Hallandale Beach relies on have been closed through the years due to saltwater intrusion. That's because 85 percent of the city is within the area where saltwater has seeped in, Castro said. As a result, the city pays to get half of its water from Broward County's western well fields and is working on a deal for new western wells of its own. Hallandale Beach proposes building six new wells and new water lines in West Park for about $10 million. Operating them over 40 years would cost about $36 million, Castro said. "Any given day, if we were to pull too much water … we could lose another well," Castro said. Instead of building well fields farther inland, some utilities build new water plants capable of tapping into and treating deeper, saltier underground water supplies. Lake Worth recently completed a $24 million reverse osmosis water plant to keep 5 million to 7 million gallons of water a day flowing, without threats from saltwater. Lake Worth also has stricter once-a-week landscape-watering limits intended to cut water use and help avoid saltwater intrusion. Rising sea levels are expected to add to the spread of saltwater intrusion, said Jennifer Jurado, Broward County director of natural resources planning and management. Man-made pollution produces more carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases that capture the sun's heat, leading to climate change. Increased temperatures mean melting ice sheets and swelling oceans, projected to bring rising sea levels. South Florida sea levels rose about 8 inches during the past 100, but are projected to increase between 9 and 27 inches over the next 60 years, according to Jurado. That would lead to more saltwater forcing its way into freshwater supplies, she said. "Potable water supply is obviously a major concern long-term," said Jurado. Building water plants capable of converting ocean water into drinking water is one alternative that so far South Florida utilities have deemed too expensive. Making better use of regional water supplies could help beat back saltwater intrusion, said Ron Nunes, chairman of the Southeast Florida Utility Council, which represents water providers serving nearly 5 million residents. Flood control for cities and farms built on what used to be the Everglades leads to draining nearly two billions of gallons of storm water out to sea each day after a typical South Florida summer rainstorm. More of that storm water should be redirected to beef up groundwater levels depleted by decades of draining and paving land that once held water and naturally replenished the aquifer, Nunes said. "The biggest issue is the water is there and it is all going out to sea," Nunes said. "Why can't it be re-engineered to help keep the saltwater back?"

WTS Commissions .5 MGD RO For Golf Course Irrigation

Burlington, Iowa July 30 Water Treatment Systems, Inc, Boca Raton FL has commissioned a new reverse osmosis water treatment system at Spirit Hollow Golf Club in Burlington IA. The 500,000 GPD RO, manufactured by Water Management Group, Inc. will provide a consistent supply of irrigation quality water for the golf course. The design-build project was a result of successful teamwork performed by the owner, Spirit Hollow Golf Club, Water Treatment Systems, Inc and Water Management Group, Inc.
At times of low rainfall, which is an annual occurrence during the golf season in Iowa, the facilities back up source of water has been a brackish water well. At 2600 ppm TDS this water was harmful to the fairways greens and tees.

The new RO system provides a product water of approximately 100 ppm TDS which will then be stored in a natural pond. The blended pond water should reach approximately 400 ppm TDS before being pumped onto the golf course. “This water quality is considered to be optimal for the health and appearance of fairways, greens and additional landscaping” said Jeff Dunn, WTS, Inc. applications engineer.
A new building was constructed over the winter to house the equipment which consists of the .5 MGD membrane train and pre-filtration system.
Reverse Osmosis systems are increasingly chosen by Golf Course properties to reduce water costs while maintaining consistent irrigation quality water from sources otherwise unsuitable for irrigation or potable water use. The cost of operating an RO water treatment plant is often much less than the cost of municipal water or reclaimed waste-water, and better for the turf.
Water Treatment Systems, Inc. designs reverse osmosis systems for industrial and commercial applications and specializes in brackish and sea water desalination.

Newest Golf Course Irrigation RO Near Completion

Water Treatment Systems,Inc, Boca Raton FL has delivered it's newest reverse osmosis water treatment system to Spirit Hollow GC in Burlington IA. The 500,000 GPD RO will provide a consistent supply of irrigation quality water for the golf course.

At times of low rainfall, which is an annual occurrence during the golf season in Iowa, the facilities back up source of water has been a brackish water well. At 2000 ppm TDS this water was detrimental to the fairways greens and tees.

The new RO system will provide a product water of approximately 100 ppm TDS which will then be stored in a natural pond. The blended pond water should reach approximately 400 ppm TDS before being pumped onto the golf course.

A new building was constructed over the winter to house the equipment. The Water Treatment Plant is expected to start-up around May 18th.

Zero Liquid Discharge System For Golf Course Irrigation WTP

Phase II has begun for the WTS 1.2 MGD reverse osmosis based water treatment plant that will feature (nearly) "Zero Liquid Discharge" of the RO water concentrate. Water Treatment Systems, Inc and Water Management Group, Inc. have shipped all of the process equipment which is now in the installation phase of the project. When completed the 1.2 MGD reverse osmosis based water treatment plant will feature (nearly) "Zero Liquid Discharge" of the RO concentrate from the systems. RO concentrate water that is to be discharged to a sewer system has been reduced to only approximately 25,000 GPD. That is a design recovery of greater than 98%.
This is a very important development for the RO and also for the Golf industries. In many parts of the country, and indeed worldwide, golf course managers struggle with the problems of availability, cost or quality of water for irrigation of their golf course. Reverse Osmosis has solved the problem of utilizing brackish ground water and many Golf Clubs have planned to purchase and install their own RO water treatment plants only to run directly into a very major obstacle. The problem is finding a suitable location to send the RO concentrate water and obtaining the necessary permits. RO concentrate water is considered 'industrial waste' by the DER and EPA." The lower the amount of RO concentrate, the smaller the problem is.
Reverse Osmosis systems are currently desalinating brackish or sea water at dozens of gold course facilities in the USA and world-wide. The product water from RO systems is very good "irrigation" quality. These facilities discharge their concentrate water, usually about 25% of the feed water, to an appropriate and permittable location. For a one million gallon per day RO system, this can be 250,000 gallons per day. A great many golf club facilities that need to treat their available water do not have an approved location to discharge it to.
The original design for the Texas Golf Club called for total liquid discharge with the use of evaporators as the final treatment phase. Evaporators are expensive both in capital and operating cost. But our client was fortunate to obtain permitting for approximately 5% of the concentrate thus eliminating the evaporation phase which saved about a million dollars". The zero liquid discharge design by Water Treatment Systems, Inc., using membrane systems are a low cost opportunity for golf clubs everywhere.

The Future of Reverse Osmosis Systems

The future is now! Indeed RO systems are being utilized right now all over the world.
As water supplies continue to degrade or in many countries, simply not available, RO systems will be in greater demand. Desalination of sea water in arid climates is absolutely essential. In many industrial countries, good quality water sources for potable and for irrigation use are becoming hard to find. What little there is becomes very expensive.

Reverse Osmosis is a process that treats water that would otherwise be unsuitable for use and turns into potable water quality. It makes it possible to utilize water sources that are highly saline or brackish, thus freeing up the available "clean" water sources and keeping prices within reason.

Please check back with me often. I will be writing all about RO and RO applications on this first blog about the subject.