Restoring Santa Monica's MTBE‐contaminated groundwater supply: Fid-Bau Portal

Restoring Santa Monica's MTBE‐contaminated groundwater supply

Shorney‐Darby, Holly / Titus, Hala / Cardenas, Myriam / Borboa, Gil

The city of Santa Monica, California, faced several challenges with its water supply. After detecting methyl‐tertiary butyl ether in some of the wells, the city began researching treatment options and worked with the state regulatory agency to design a water plant with adequate treatment barriers. Even though MTBE was an unregulated contaminant when detected in 1996, the well field was classified as “extremely impaired” by the California Department of Public Health. As a result, a progressive design‐build method of design and construction was used to expedite the schedule and maintain flexibility throughout the project. As the city began to develop a project procurement plan, restrictions on importing water to southern California were being considered or implemented. It therefore became urgent for the city to quickly restore its sustainable groundwater supply. The integrated approach the city selected for design and construction of the water treatment infrastructure offered flexibility in implementing a technical solution in a complex regulatory setting and provided a competitive price and an aggressive schedule. Information in this article may help guide other utilities through planning, design, and construction for water treatment facilities with high‐profile contaminants. The use of progressive design‐build, which is becoming more popular with utilities in the United States, was also beneficial, and may help other utilities decide whether to use such a model on future projects.