AWWA MTC69680

The purpose of this study at Reynolds Desalination Facility (RDF), owned and operated by Sweetwater Authority in Chula Vista, California, was to determine the effectiveness of antiscalant without the addition of sulfuric acid into the reverse osmosis (RO) feedstream. If successful, full scale RO processes will be able to eliminate the sulfuric acid system and all support equipment required to handle, store and post-treat permeate water as a result of increased CO₂. The pilot study will be considered successful if the normalized flow rates of the pilot unit are at or above historical normalized flow rates for the full operating system. This paper details testing procedures, operational performance, decision criteria, and long term impacts, both financially and performance based, from the full scale plant operations at RDF. Includes tables, figures.