Public Works

Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement

Additional project updates and information will be published on an on-going basis.

Project Updates

September 2025

The Planning Bureau team in the Community Development Department is leading the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process to evaluate environmental impacts for this project in accordance with state regulation and City procedures. The Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project - Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Report can be accessed online at longbeach.gov/lbcd/planning/environmental/reports. The Notice of Availability (NOA) has specific instructions on how comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) can be submitted and additional details including information about the public comment period.

• October 2024 Update

  The Planning Bureau team in the Community Development Department is leading the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process to evaluate environmental impacts for this project in accordance with state regulation and City procedures. A draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is being prepared for the project and a notice will be issued for the public review and comment period on the draft EIR. Please sign up at the bottom of this webpage to receive an email notification of the notice.
  
  For more information on this project’s CEQA process, please refer to the Community Development Department’s Environmental Reports webpage: longbeach.gov/lbcd/planning/environmental/reports/

• May 2024 Update

  The Community Development Department, Planning Bureau is leading California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process for this project in accordnace with state regulation and City procedures. The Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project - Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report can be accessed online at the City's website: https:www.longbeach.gov/lbcd/planning/environmental/reports/
  
  The Notice of Preparation (NOP) has specific instructions on how comments on the NOP can be submitted and additional details including information about the public comment period and virtual public scoping meeting.

  
  
  

• January 2024 Update

  The City of Long Beach is hosting a virtual community meeting to provide recent updates on the Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project. The meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, January 29, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.

  Meeting registration is required and can be done at: http://bit.ly/abwqe

  Notable project updates, current schedule, and information on the environmental review process will be discussed at the meeting. There will be an opportunity for community members to ask questions at the end of the presentation.  Requests for interpretation services must be submitted by January 22, 2024, and can be sent to contactlbpw@longbeach.gov.

• September 2023 Update

  Preliminary engineering design for the this City project is still underway and anticipated to conclude this year. The preliminary engineering design will be used to inform environmental documentation, permitting, and anticipated project costs. The City continues to evaluate funding opportunities for final design, construction, operations, maintenance, and monitoring for the project.

  On August 29, 2023, a project update presentation was provided to the Climate, Environment, and Coastal Protection Committee.
  
  On September 13, 2023, a meeting was held at the Long Beach Yacht Club. A project update was presented to the community.

• April 2023 Update

  Preliminary engineering design for the project is underway and anticipated to conclude this year. This information will be used to inform environmental documentation, permitting, and anticipated project costs. The City continues to evaluate funding opportunities for final design, construction, operations, maintenance, and monitoring for the project.

  The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) is the regulatory agency overseeing the statewide Water Quality Control Policy on the Use of Coastal and Estuarine Waters for Power Plant Cooling (Once-Through Cooling or OTC Policy). Information regarding their draft policy amendment to extend the compliance date of Alamitos Units 3, 4, 5, and other units in the state for three years from December 31, 2023, to December 31, 2026 is available at: https://bit.ly/swbcwa316b.

  On February 9, 2023, a project update presentation was given to the Maine Advisory Commission.

Project Information

The Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement (ABWQE) Project protects water quality in Alamitos Bay through monitoring of existing water quality and evaluating alternatives to maintain and improve water quality. The bay is a coastal resource for aquatic recreation, marine habitats and is subject to high levels of human contact year-round through recreation, hosting local and international aquatic events, and supporting future aquatic events for the 2028 Olympic Games. Water quality is influenced by many natural and anthropogenic factors. Development, flood control, and energy generation activities have historically altered the bay. More recently, watershed and waterbody regulations along with projects such as low flow diversions and habitat restorations have corresponded with improvements in water quality. Once-Through-Cooling (OTC) Pumps have been a part of energy generation activities at AES Alamitos for nearly 60 years, their use has decreased since 2018 and are scheduled to be phased out at the end of 2026 under current State regulations. Numerical modeling results indicate that OTC influences the residence time in the bay beyond natural tidal processes. Water quality monitoring is ongoing and an environmental impact report is being prepared to further analyze alternatives.

Operation and regulation of power plants are not within the scope of this project. Private entities and external government agencies oversee the operation and regulation of these facilities.

The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) is the regulatory agency overseeing the statewide Water Quality Control Policy on the use of water quality control on the use of coastal and estuarine waters for power plant cooling (OTC Policy). Information regarding policy amendment to extend the compliance date of Alamitos Units 3, 4, 5 and other units in the state for three years from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2026 is available at http://bit.ly/cwa316.

Project Funding

Preliminary engineering for this project is funded by Tidelands and Measure A along with contribution from AES Alamitos.

Project Contact

stormwater@longbeach.gov

More Information

• Alamitos bay Water Quality Enhancement Project Virtual Community Meeting Presentation - January 29, 2024
• Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project Council District 3 Presentation - September 13, 2023
• Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project Climate, Environment, and Coastal Protection Committee Presentation - August 29, 2023
• Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project Marine Advisory Commission Presentation - February 9, 2023
• Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project City Council Presentation - June 21, 2022
• Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project Presentation - February 23, 2021
• Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project Update - Memo to the Mayor and City Council - October 26, 2020
• Modeling and Alternatives Analysis for Water Quality Improvements in Alamitos Bay
• Evaluation of Using Existing Alamitos Generating Station Intake System to Maintain Water Quality in Alamitos Bay
• Modeling of Water Residence Time within Alamitos Bay
• Alamitos Bay Circulation Report

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