Challenge

Oceanside, California, located near San Diego, is a popular place to raise a family. But for the past few years, Oceanside residents living near the San Luis Rey Treatment Plant couldn’t inhale the ocean air without also taking in pungent odors coming from the plant.

In operation for 30 years, the plant’s odor control problem was addressed more than seven years ago when odor control units were installed but didn’t entirely to solve the problem.

Solution

Working with Siemens Water Technologies, the city was able to alleviate the problem with odor control technology from Siemens as a part of the plant expansion.

• Siemens will supply six LO/PRO® Odor Control Systems to reduce plant sulfide emissions to zero parts per billion
• Plant treats nearly 80 percent of the city’s wastewater
• The expansion will increase daily capacity from 10.7 MGD to 13.5 MGD
• Existing odor control units will be upgraded and new units added

According to Lonnie Thibodeaux, Oceanside’s wastewater operations manager, the city of Oceanside decided the LO/PRO® system was the best choice for solving existing odor control problems because of the system’s reputation in the industry.

Other large cities are using LO/PRO® systems, including:

• The City of Las Vegas
• The City of Phoenix
• The City of Los Angeles

Results

The expansion, which includes a 16,000-square-foot administration and laboratory building, is expected to begin operation in 2004.