California’s severe drought conditions quickly turned around after a winter of seemingly endless rainstorms. While sometimes inconvenient, the much-needed precipitation has helped improve conditions across the state.
During heavy downpours here in Torrance, the city storm water retention basin, Pioneer Basin, collects storm water from various public locations throughout the city. Because the Basin lacks pumping capability, storm water must infiltrate through the ground or evaporate.
However, when the Basin is near full, as was the case during the last heavy episodes of rain, the city discharges storm water from Pioneer Basin onto Torrance Refinery property. The city most recently discharged its Pioneer Basin to the Refinery in January 2023. Although hardly known, the Torrance Refinery manages and pays for the storm water to be treated through the Los Angeles County Sanitation Department.
In addition to helping the city with its stormwater overflow, the Torrance Refinery is also conscientious about its water use efficiency and conservation.
Here are few facts about the refinery’s water use:
Torrance Refinery maintains a wastewater treatment permit with the Los Angeles County Sanitation District (LACSD). In any given month, the refinery takes more than 80 samples for various water quality parameters, and tests of the samples are run at the refinery’s onsite laboratory or sent to a third-party lab for testing, and the lab results are reported to LACSD, as required.