Tag Archive for: Desalination

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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Desalination Plant Brings Relief To Ensenada Residents Struggling With Limited Water Supply

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Sandra Dibble

Baja California’s first utility-scale desalination plant has launched operations, supplying 5.7 million gallons a day of converted seawater to municipal water users in the port of Ensenada. The reverse-osmosis facility, which has the capacity to double in size, is seen as a critical piece of infrastructure for Ensenada, whose 390,000 residents have been almost entirely dependent on aquifers for their water supply.

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Orange County Officials Give Early Approval To Huntington Beach Desalination Plant Contract

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

Concerns over the cost and environmental impacts of desalinated water were overridden by the desire to fortify water supplies when the Orange County Water District board voted 6-2 Wednesday to approve non-binding contract terms with Poseidon, which has spent 20 years on the desalination plant proposal for Huntington Beach. The plan for the $1 billion plant and water distribution infrastructure would increase the monthly bill for the average residential customer receiving the water by an estimated $3 to $6. It would help ensure the area has water during droughts when supplies from Northern California and the Colorado River are curtailed.

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EMWD Receives $2.78M In U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Workplan

/in , /by /Lake Elisnore Patch

Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) has received a funding appropriation of $2.78 million from the United States Army Corps of Engineers through its 2018 workplan, furthering a long-term partnership that has greatly improved water supply reliability within EMWD’s service area. The funding from the Army Corps is part of its ongoing commitment to the South Perris Desalter Program, which will further expand EMWD’s groundwater desalination program through the construction of wells, pipelines and a new desalination facility. EMWD currently operates two groundwater desalination facilities, and will be breaking ground in 2019 to further expand capacity.

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Cal Am Desal Project In “Home Stretch” At CPUC

/in , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

More than six years after being formally proposed to the state Public Utilities Commission, California American Water’s desalination project is in crunch time. A CPUC proposed decision on the proposal is less than a month away. It will be a precursor to the commission’s consideration of project permit approval and certification of the project’s environmental impact document, likely to occur some time in September just before a critical Carmel River cutback order milestone deadline. All this as Cal Am faces a second public takeover campaign and ballot measure led by Public Water Now this summer and fall.

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If We Don’t Want To Run Out Of Water, We Should Look To The Sun

/in , /by /Popular Scienceby Jeremy Deaton

A winter of exceptionally meager snowfall has revived California’s water woes. Snowpack typically supplies the state with much of its water during the spring and summer, but this year, snow is in short supply, spurring Gov. Jerry Brown to instate permanent conservation measures. Thanks to climate change, the problem is only going to get worse, leaving officials worried about the future of water in the Golden State. Huntington Beach, a seaside Southern California city, is taking the long view, investing in a new desalination plant that will turn seawater into clean, drinkable H20.

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