Desalination work restarts after spring runoff causes shutdown

The VNS Federal Services crew at the Paradox Valley Unit (PVU) desalination facility in Colorado last week restarted operations safely following a shutdown caused by spring water runoff.?

The western Colorado region received a large amount of snow this winter, which produced heavy runoff in the Delores River – actually a good thing for the river’s desalination needs. “The heavy flow suppresses the brine intrusion into the river, which makes our operation (PVU) ineffective,” Project Manager John Adams said in explaining the May 8 shutdown. ?

This marked the first time in many years that water runoff prompted a shutdown, as the region has been experiencing a severe drought.

PVU operates around-the-clock to prevent up to 100,000 tons of salt per year from entering the Delores and Colorado rivers.?It does this by extracting brine groundwater and injecting it into a deep injection well.?Saline concentrations of this naturally occurring brine groundwater have measured in excess of 250,000 milligrams per liter - about eight times saltier than seawater.?PVU is part of the broader Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. “When the river flows are low, our operation is very effective in reducing the brine intrusion to the river,” Adams said.

During the planned shutdown, PVU crews worked with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation client to perform upgrades at the site.

VNSFS has been performing Operations, Maintenance and Repair at PVU since 2014