Chloride is one of the two components of sodium chloride, also known as table salt or rock salt. It is also one of the two components of potassium chloride, also known as potassium tablets or potassium crystals.

All wastewater generated by businesses goes to the sewer and is treated at a wastewater treatment plant before being released to the Santa Clara River. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board set a water quality objective of 100 milligrams per liter  for the Santa Clara River to protect beneficial uses, including the farming of salt-sensitive crops such as avocados and strawberries. This water quality objective is a regulated permit limit for the discharge of treated wastewater to the River.  The chloride concentration in wastewater entering the treatment plant exceeds the discharge limit, and conventional wastewater treatment does not remove it. Therefore, an advanced water treatment facility was built specifically to remove chloride to comply with the discharge limit. Too much chloride puts extra strain on the facility and significantly increases operating costs. If chloride levels increase beyond the facility’s treatment capacity, expensive expansions would be required.

Chloride is present in the drinking water that comes from your tap. Another source of chloride in wastewater is automatic water softeners that require the addition of salt or potassium chloride and  self-regenerate at their installed locations. Additionally, chloride may also be added to wastewater via human waste, swimming pools, cooling towers, boilers, and cleaning chemicals such as chlorine bleach.

Water softeners use a process called ion exchange to remove the calcium and magnesium (hardness) present in hard water for sodium or potassium. The calcium and magnesium adhere to resin in the softener. When the resin becomes saturated it is necessary to regenerate it. This is done by introducing a brine solution containing highly concentrated sodium chloride (salt) or potassium chloride. The sodium or potassium displaces the calcium and magnesium on the resin, and the chloride present in the brine remains in solution.  Automatic water softeners regenerate on-site and discharge the brine solution, including the concentrated chloride, to the sewer.

See How Water Softeners Workfor more information.

If soft water is necessary for your business, you may use an exchange tank water softener that is regenerated off-site at a facility permitted to discharge salty waste to sewers outside the Santa Clarita Valley.  These types of water softeners are also known as canister-type softeners. There are local water conditioning businesses that offer exchange tank services. The cost varies depending on water usage and incoming water hardness. 

See Acceptable Alternatives to Automatic Water Softenersfor more information.

If your business operates a water softener that regenerates on-site, you must immediately stop discharging brine from the unit into the sewer. If you put salt or potassium chloride in your softener or pay a water conditioning service to add salt or potassium chloride to the softener, then your softener regenerates on-site and cannot be connected to the sewer. If someone changes out the tank in your softener on a regular basis, then you have an exchange tank system and can continue to use it. The Sanitation District regularly inspects local businesses to ensure that no automatic water softeners are connected to the sewer. Additionally, if you operate a swimming pool at your business, you are required to implement certain management practices to reduce the amount of chloride discharged to the sewer from your pool. Please contact the Sanitation District at 1-877-CUT-SALT or cutsalt@lacsd.org for more information.

If you have questions or would like more information about chloride restrictions and acceptable alternatives for your business, please call 1-877-CUT-SALT or email us at cutsalt@lacsd.org.