Cerritos, Calif.

GROUNDWATER DIVERSION PROJECT

City of Cerritos

The Groundwater Diversion project improves water quality at two civic landmarks.

Heavy metals are present in the groundwater at the City of Cerritos Civic Center and Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

The regional water board notified the City its dewatering systems discharging to the local storm drain system exceeded regulatory limits.

To eliminate the discharges to the storm drain system, both dewatering systems are diverted to the sanitary sewer system.

The groundwater diversion at the Civic Center Parking Structure requires a new sewer lateral to the sewer trunk line owned by the Los Angeles County Sanitation District (LACSD) and lift station to overcome a shallow storm drain line. A flow meter section measures discharges. The Cerritos Library’s aquarium flush-to-waste line has been rerouted to the new sewer discharge line.

Stormwater must also be redirected from the groundwater system which would otherwise comingle with the groundwater discharge to the sewer. The stormwater inlets on the Civic Center Parking Structure are rerouted to a new tank and lift station discharging to a bioretention area at ground level. New architectural canopies are proposed to divert stormwater from those existing inlets.

The groundwater diversion at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts requires a new sewer lateral to an existing sewer manhole at the site. A new flow meter section has been added to measure discharges to the off-site sewer trunk line from the groundwater lift station.

The Groundwater Diversion Project is slated for completion in 2024.