• Water Quality
• Water Supply
• Sewer / Wastewater
• Recycled Water
• Backflow Prevention
• Urban Runoff
• Facilities
• Urban Water Management Plan
• Research Business Plan

Irvine Desalter Project

The Irvine Desalter Project purifies water found in the Irvine sub-basin of the larger Orange County groundwater basin. It is a two-part endeavor, with recycled water and drinking water components.

IRWD took the lead on the Irvine Desalter Project, a complex endeavor that required unprecedented cooperation among federal, state and local agencies. The site map below depicts both the recycled water and drinking water components of the project. Treated water from within the plume of contamination from the former military base is not used for drinking or other household purposes.

Click Here For Plume Map

Part One: Recycled Water Component

This key project removes a volatile organic compound called trichloroethylene --TCE-- found in 1985 to be polluting groundwater in the area beneath the former El Toro Marine Base. TCE was a solvent used to degrease airplane parts. Groundwater monitoring showed that a “plume” of TCE-tainted groundwater was moving off of the base and toward the main groundwater basin that supplies water for central and northern Orange County.

To clean the TCE-contaminated groundwater, water from the plume is pumped from wells on the former base and in the community and piped to two purification plants (shown as purple squares on the site map above). There it is treated using air strippers to separate the chemical from the water, and the TCE is captured on granular activated carbon filters so that no air pollution is created. The cleaned water is then used in the recycled water system for landscape irrigation and other non-drinking water purposes.

Part Two: Drinking Water Component

Due to natural geology in the area, the groundwater beneath Irvine is higher in salts. This water is pumped from wells located safely outside the area of the TCE contamination. The water is treated separately at a plant using reverse osmosis, decarbonation and disinfection. The resulting purified water supplies enough drinking water each year for about 50,000 people.

Irvine Desalter Project Brochure