LOS ANGELES COUNTY - News from Sept. 12, 1994

Recycled Water Project: The first large-volume use of recycled water by a petroleum refinery will be announced Tuesday in Torrance by the California Environmental Protection Agency, the city of Torrance, the West Basin Municipal Water District and Mobil Corp.’s Torrance refinery. The plan, called the West Basin Water Recycling Project, is intended to better prepare Torrance for periods of drought, reduce treated waste water that ends up in Santa Monica Bay, and reduce the amount of fresh water that must be piped into the South Bay region. The recycled water is treated waste water that has had all solids removed and been disinfected at the city of Los Angeles’ Hyperion Treatment Plant in El Segundo. The West Basin district will then purify the water drinking standards (though it won’t be used for drinking). The city of Torrance and the water district will offer the water--at a 30% discount--to other big water users.