Carlsbad Desal Plant gets $19.4 Million for New Seawater Intakes

Carlsbad’s desalination plant, which provides 10 percent of San Diego County’s drinking water, will get $19.4 million for the construction of its new seawater intakes as part of $142 million in federal grants for water projects throughout the West.

Construction of the new facilities began in January 2023 at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, a spokesperson for the San Diego County Water Authority said Friday. The new intake screens will be placed in operation this fall, and the full project should be finished in early 2025.