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OPINION: Huntington Beach Desalination Project Would Help Meet Region’s Water Needs

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Dr. Allan Bernstein

As the price of imported water continues to rise, and technological advances for seawater desalination improve efficiencies, California’s time to turn ocean water into drinking water has come. Orange County is poised to integrate purified ocean water into its drinking water portfolio, just as San Diego has successfully done by producing 35 billion gallons of drinking water from the Pacific Ocean in just three short years. The ocean is the world’s largest reservoir; it’s always full and sits on our front doorstep. At the cost of a half-penny per gallon, seawater desalination is cost-competitive with the development of other new water supplies.

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New Desalination Plant On Hold

/in , /by /Voice Of San Diegoby Ry Rivard

Plans to build a new plant at Camp Pendleton to make ocean water drinkable are on hold, in part due to falling demand for water, thanks to state-urged conservation efforts. The San Diego County Water Authority had spent $5.4 million on the now-abandoned plan, though it says technical studies it’s already done could be used in the future.

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OPINION: A Permanent Solution To California’s Water Woes — Seawater

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Michael L. Waxer

Environmental calamities recently have battered California with alarming frequency. Over the past year, we have suffered the most damaging wildfires in our history. But, as in Steinbeck’s era, chronic water scarcity remains our most serious environmental problem. In some corners of the state, extreme water conservation has become a year-round way of life. This is certainly the case on the Monterey Peninsula.

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As Cal Am’s Desal Project Is Set For Approval, Important Questions Remain About Its Water’s Cost.

/in , /by /Monterey County Weeklyby David Schmalz

As the California Public Utilities Commission is set to consider approving California American Water’s proposed desalination project sometime in September – as the Weekly went to print, it was not yet clear if it would be considered on Sept. 13 or Sept. 27 – crucial questions about the cost of that water remain unanswered.

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Carlsbad Investor To Sell Its Stake

/in , /by /Water Desalination Report Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, has reportedly appointed Australia’s Macquarie Capital as financial advisor for a possible sales process of its stake in the 50 MGD (189,250 m3/d) Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant. Poseidon Resources partnered with Stonepeak to form Orion Water Partners, the joint venture that built, owns and operates the Carlsbad plant. The project required $922 million in financing, $734 million of which was arranged through the sale of tax exempt bonds issued by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority on behalf of Poseidon and the San Diego County Water Authority.

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Desalination Plant in Santa Barbara Now Supplying 30% of City’s Needs; Hosting Public Tours

/in , /by /KCLU Santa Barbaraby Lance Orozco

Some ocean water on Santa Barbara County’s coastline is soon going to undergo a transformation. Roughly three million gallons of salt water is turned into drinking water a day at the City of Santa Barbara’s Charles E. Meyer Desalination plant.

The plant, which is just a few blocks from the ocean between West Beach and Highway 101, has been up and running for more than a year. Now for the first time, the media has been invited to tour the facility, and this weekend the public can see it.

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California Public Utilities Commission’s Proposed Decision Backs Cal Am Desalination Project

/in , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

In a major development for California American Water’s long-sought desalination project, the California Public Utilities Commission has issued a proposed decision recommending approval of the proposal known as the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project.

In a 223-page filing, a three-judge panel found that Cal Am’s desal project is the best option available to provide the Monterey Peninsula with a timely replacement water supply to offset the state water board’s Carmel River pumping cutback order and the need to reduce pumping from the adjudicated Seaside basin. Judges Gary Weatherford, Robert Haga and Darcie Houck also recommended certifying the project’s combined environmental review document, arguing that project impacts could either be mitigated or would be outweighed by the project’s benefits.

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Gary Griggs, Our Ocean Backyard: The Costs Of Desalination

/in , /by /Santa Cruz Sentinel Newsby Gary Griggs Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

After 15 years of planning, design, environmental impact assessment and review, and final political approvals, the largest desalination plant in the U.S. went on line at Carlsbad in northern San Diego County in December of 2015. This is the most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination facility in the Western Hemisphere and taps the world’s largest reservoir of water, the Pacific Ocean. The Poseidon plant has the capacity to produce 50 million gallons of fresh water a day, which is about 7 to 10 percent of San Diego County’s total water usage. San Diego is an arid region and imports most of its water from somewhere else.

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Desalination Deal Draws Criticism From Groups Concerned About Water Affordability

/in , /by /Orange County Breeze

Last night, Orange County Water District voted 6-2 to approve terms for a new, non-binding agreement with privately-owned Poseidon Water for a Huntington Beach desalination project. If the District decides to move ahead with the deal once the plant is fully permitted, the agreement would commit Orange County ratepayers to buying Poseidon’s desalinated water for 30-35 years, while guaranteeing a significant profit for Poseidon’s investors. The billion-dollar desalination proposal has been widely opposed by local activists. Conservation and equity groups are concerned about its impact on water affordability, as well as its anticipated pollution of groundwater and ocean water, harm to sea life, and carbon emissions.

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O.C. Water District Approves Updated Terms For Buying Water From H.B. Desalination Plant If Poseidon Gets Final Permits

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Priscella Vega Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Despite pushback from about 80 environmentalists and other residents, the Orange County Water District board Wednesday approved an updated term sheet for buying water from the proposed Huntington Beach ocean desalination plant. The 6-2 vote established the terms for a contract if plant builder Poseidon Water receives final permits necessary from the Regional Water Quality Control Board this year and the California Coastal Commission next year. It also increased its project study budget from $320,000 to $370,000 to hire consultants to help evaluate different aspects of the proposal. Board members Roger Yoh and Bruce Whitaker dissented, James Vanderbilt abstained and Philip Anthony was absent.

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