San Bernardino County
West Valley Detention Center
Salas O’Brien performed mechanical and electrical engineering design for this key detention center in San Bernardino, California. Our design and assessment radically improved the reliability and longevity of the facility’s systems.
Our client
As an over 3,000-bed facility, the West Valley Detention Center (WVDC) is one of the largest county jails in the state of California. The facility employs over 600 employees (many civilian) and has medical professionals on site 24/7. In addition to medical, dental, and mental health services, WVDC also offers a wide range of inmate instruction programs covering fields from culinary arts to landscape maintenance.
Project highlights
Their challenge
WVDC contracted Salas O’Brien to complete a full assessment, design, and 20-year plan for the modernization of their emergency generator system. Because the facility needs to remain operational 24/7 all year, it requires highly reliable emergency backup generator systems.
Our solution
During the review our team determined that the installation of a high efficiency pony chiller would dramatically improve the chiller plant’s reliability. Accomplishing this goal meant wiring the pony chiller into the new, triple-1000kW backup generator system. In addition, we completed a comprehensive, 20-year ease-of-maintenance plan, overall reduction of site energy costs, and a plan for the integration of the generators with the existing thermal energy storage system and chiller plant.
The results
Our work on this project helped ensure the reliable, efficient operation of this facility far into the future.


