Groundwater pumping in the Los Alamitos, California area near Long Beach over the last century has caused groundwater levels to drop, allowing seawater to intrude into the local groundwater aquifer. To prevent additional infiltration by seawater, a coastline barrier of wells injecting fresh water has been in place since 1965. Until 2003, imported potable drinking water was injected into the aquifer. However, the Alamitos Barrier now utilizes highly-treated recycled water for this application. One obstacle to the use of recycled water, is that it contains the contaminant N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). Because the injected water mixes with potential drinking water in the aquifer, the recycled water must be of drinking water quality.
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