Posts

Pure Water Monterey Supply Set for Extraction, Use on Peninsula

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

Pure Water Monterey is finally poised to make water available for the Monterey Peninsula, providing a new water supply source for the area while allowing a reduction in Carmel River water usage albeit at a considerably reduced rate to start than was expected.

Last weekend, Monterey One Water announced that it had completed a 1,000-acre-foot recycled water reserve in the Seaside basin and that California American Water could start extracting additional water from the basin equivalent to the amount of recycled water being pumped into the basin beyond the reserve.

Full Story

Water: Coastal Commission Staff Again Advises Desal Project Denial

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

Nine months after the Coastal Commission conducted its first hearing on California American Water’s proposed desalination project, commission staff has again recommended denial of the project in favor of a Pure Water Monterey expansion proposal.

On Tuesday, commission staff released a 154-page staff report essentially reiterating its previous arguments against the Cal Am desal project, including its relative cost, environmental impact and controversial nature. It touted the “feasible and environmentally preferable” recycled water project as a viable alternative in the Monterey Peninsula’s long-running attempts to develop a replacement water supply to offset the state ordered Carmel River cutback order.

Full Story

Poseidon’s Desalination Plan for Huntington Beach Delayed Again

/in , , /by /Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

After years of bureaucratic hurdles and increasing regulatory requirements, Poseidon Water was dealt yet another delay Friday, Aug. 7, in its pursuit of a controversial desalination plant in Huntington Beach.  The Regional Water Quality Control Board concluded three days of hearings on the project’s next permit by telling Poseidon it must return with a more robust, more detailed mitigation plan to offset the environmental damage the project will cause.

Full Story

Water Officials Push Back Decision on Huntington Beach Desal Project Yet Again

/in , , /by /Voice of OCby Brandon Pho

State regional water officials have again delayed a decision on a controversial seawater desalination plant in Huntington Beach, instead placing further requirements on the project’s company to reckon with the facility’s anticipated environmental damage.

Full Story

Opinion: Poseidon’s Huntington Beach Desalination Plant Still In Choppy Waters

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

As Poseidon Water pursues the final government approvals needed to build one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants, the company still cannot definitively say who will buy the 50 million gallons a day of drinking water it wants to produce on the Orange County coast.

Full Story

Questions Over Water Official Who Took Money from Interests Pushing Desal She’s Voting On

/in , , /by /Voice of OCby Brandon Pho

Regional water board member Kris Murray is on track later this week to vote on a controversial desalination plant sponsored by a company and interest groups she took money from during past political campaigns.

State regulators have identified more than $6,000 in campaign contributions that Murray fundraised for her Anaheim city council campaigns in 2014 and 2015 and county supervisorial in 2018 from the project’s parent company, Poseidon Water, and two trade unions who voiced support for the project in recent years.

Full Story

Public Protest, Questions Push Water Board Decision on Huntington Beach Desal Permit to Aug. 7

/in , , /by /Voice of OCby Brandon Pho

Amidst public protests and outstanding questions from regional water officials — about what kind of deal they’re getting into on a controversial desalination plant for Huntington Beach — a final decision on the project has been pushed to next week, Aug. 7.

The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board on Friday held a second day of public hearings before board members vote on the project proposal’s wastewater discharge permit.

If the permit is approved, Poseidon Water, the company proposing the desal plant, would clear a major hurdle after two-decades of pushing it near the final stretch to getting it completely authorized for construction.

The last step for the company would be to get another permit approved by the state Coastal Commission.

Full Story

Poseidon’s Desalination Plant Faces Day of Reckoning

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

After more than 20 years of developing plans for a Huntington Beach desalination plant and winding its way through a seemingly endless bureaucratic approval process, Poseidon Water comes to a key juncture as the Regional Water Quality Control Board votes on whether to grant a permit after hearings this week.

Full Story
The Sweetwater Authority received CAPIO's EPIC Award earlier this month for its innovative communication for the Hydro Station Education Experience. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

Sweetwater Authority and Otay Water District Win Statewide Award for Hydro Station Education Experience

/in , /by

The Sweetwater Authority Governing Board on July 22 was presented with the California Association of Public Information Officials Award of Distinction for excellence in public information and communications. As a collaborative project with the Chula Vista Elementary School District, the Sweetwater Authority and the Otay Water District received the award from CAPIO earlier this month for innovative communications for the Hydro Station Education Experience.

The Hydro Station at Sweetwater’s Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility,  hosts learning exhibits and hands-on activities to introduce 4,000 local students annually to the ecological cycle of water, water conservation, water quality, and careers in the water industry. The Hydro Station is made possible through a partnership between the Sweetwater Authority, Chula Vista Elementary School District, and the Otay Water District.

Hydro Station Education Experience opened in August 2019

Chula Vista fifth graders enjoy their first visit to the new Hydro Station educational facility. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

Chula Vista fifth graders enjoy their visit to the new Hydro Station educational facility. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

“It is exciting to be on a Board that values the importance of strategic partnerships,” said Governing Board Chair Steve Castaneda. “We are working with the Chula Vista Elementary School District and the Otay Water District to provide educational opportunities for students in our service area and to expose local children to a career path that could position them as tomorrow’s water leaders.”

The program opened in August 2019 after months of planning and collaboration with its partners.

The Authority’s Communications Committee Chair, José F. Cerda, is a long-time advocate of the partnership.

“As a former Chula Vista Elementary School District educator, I have seen the impacts that these sort of innovative classroom experiences can have on students and their families,” said Cerda. “I am so proud of the work that we are doing at the Authority and being an industry leader in creating and developing experiences for the children in our community.”

The Hydro Station will resume in a virtual format for students in the Chula Vista Elementary School District next month.

Read more

Water Desalination Report: SWRO and Conveyance Project RFQ Extended

/in , , /by /Global Water Intelligenceby Nathan Mein

Prospective bidders for the proposed Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project will now have until 11 August to submit qualification documents for the 25-year BOT project. In its initial phase, the facility will deliver 274,000 m3/d (72.4 MGD) of desalinated seawater and 82,000 m3/d (21.7 MGD) of abstracted groundwater 350km (220 mi) from Aqaba to Amman.

Full Story