Photo courtesy of the California Coastal Commission
If you’ve ever been to Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific, you may have thought that the millions of gallons of salt water used to create natural habitat for the marine species on display came directly from the nearby ocean. That, unfortunately, has not been the case—until now.
Since its inception in 1998, the world-class facility has relied entirely on deliveries of elsewhere-accumulated saltwater by truck or barge at the exorbitant cost of $500,000 per year. Finally, after years of waiting and pleading with local regulators, the Aquarium may finally be able to harness the plentiful resources offered by the adjacent Pacific Ocean.
A plan for a new water intake system will be voted on this week by the Coastal Commission that could allow this Long Beach institution to draw up to 50,000 gallons a day through a pump placed under a pier at the mouth of the Los Angeles River.
If the intake system is approved, it would make it possible for the aquarium to rely on the natural supply of seawater provided by the ocean, allowing the Aquarium to compete with other California attractions of the same kind in costs and sustainability.
The commission has already expressed support for the new upgrade and it is expected to approve it at a hearing this Wednesday in Santa Cruz.
An analysis released by the Aquarium expresses confidence that the proposed intake system would make the facility cheaper to run and more ecological by eliminating the need for 1,100 diesel truck deliveries each year.
It highlights the fact that the plan calls for much lower amounts of water to be used that those used by power plants or desalination plants, and is expected to cause minimal damage to surrounding marine life. To minimize any environmental impact, however, the Aquarium will rely on a low speed pump that will prevent fish and other marine life from being involuntarily trapped by it, complemented by a fine wire mesh placed at the mouth of the intake to further reduce wildlife casualties.
In spite of those safety measures, it’s expected that a certain amount of larvae will be scooped up by the installation. The Coastal Commission estimates that 61,000 fish larvae and 29,000 shellfish larvae per year will be destroyed. These number are small enough to guarantee the continued survival of the local fauna and have garnered the approval of the Fish and Game commission.
This technological innovation will allow the Long Beach Aquarium to compete with and surpass its State competitors in efficiency, considering that the Monterey Bay Aquarium requires 2.5 million gallons a day to function, while the Sea World replenished the 7-million-gallon killer whale complex and other large pools with saltwater drawn from Mission Bay.
All the saltwater will be treated before being channeled through the attractions’ water tanks. Once used, it will be returned to the ocean daily through the existing sewer systems, making it completely self-sustaining.
If all goes according to plan, the pump should be installed and operational by the end of the year.