Loyola Marymount University
IN-49: Innovation C

As of 4 years ago LMU only received reclaimed water to about 55 percent of campus we were rapidly able to increase this precentage through some very innovative programs.

1. In 2015 we replaced a massive amount of green space with lawn to drought tolerant species, and added features such as bike racks, gravel, and volleyball courts, to create useable green space for our community.
2.Also in 2015 we removed a massive green roof on Drollinger Parking Plaza measuring over 130,000 sq. ft. and inovatively replaced it with turf. This and other drought programs allowed us in the height of the California drought to take our innovative water program to the next level from around 50% up to 76% or so of reclaimed water based off technologies and programs lmu has been involved in.

Lmu receives reclaimed water for over 75% of campus grounds. A program through LADWP the unique part of this program is that a LMU professor helped created the hydorgen peroxide system that the city like so much on our campus that it became part of the program at Ladwp to serve the city. In the early days of operation, LMU was about the only major user and there were some problems with odors due to the long residence time in the pipes. Remember, recycled water has nutrients in it which are actually beneficial to the landscaping. The “rotten egg” odor was objectionable to many of the students during the nighttime irrigation. LMU tried adding chlorine, but that left a residual in the water that impacted some of the sensitive plants on campus. So chlorination had to be discontinued. There were number of meetings between students and administration and LADWP. In November 2004, LMU went back to irrigating with potable water.

Several years later, LMU installed a hydrogen peroxide feed system for the recycled water. Hydrogen peroxide was added to the recycled water at the connection point with LADWP. This was done at the suggestion of Professor Reichenberger who had experience using hydrogen peroxide for control of rotten egg odors. Hydrogen peroxide leaves no residual and does not harm the plants. This system allowed LMU to switch back to recycled water again. LMU was first to use hydrogen peroxide for this purpose and received an award from the California Water Reuse Association.

The system was so effective, that LADWP has installed a peroxide feed system on the main pipeline, so LMU does not need there system any longer.

Using recycled water has other benefits. LMU’s recycled water contains about 220 lb of nitrogen and about 20 lb of phosphorus per million gallons. This saves LMU the cost of purchasing chemical fertilizers. One million gallons of LMU’s recycled water contains $90 worth of nitrogen and $45 worth of phosphorus. And the nitrogen and phosphorus are fed every time irrigation occurs – nice and slow so the plants can easily absorb them.

Another good use of recycled water is for toilet flushing. Many commercial office buildings in Irvine in Orange County, CA use recycled water for toilet flushing. LMU’s new Life Science’s Building has been dual plumbed to convert the toilets to recycled water in the future. As more buildings are added to the campus, consideration will be given to using recycled water in the toilets.