At the height of the recent drought, the legislature passed and Gov. Brown signed legislation, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), that for the first time required California water agencies to account for groundwater pumping and held them accountable for the development of sustainable plans for the future. Groundwater accounts for approximately 30% of the state’s water supply.
The frantic phone calls to the Community Water Center began in the summer of 2014. In the 7,000-strong unincorporated community of East Porterville, nestled against California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, homeowners’ wells were failing amid a historic drought. Folks were hauling water from their workplaces or from agricultural wells. Parents were sending their kids to shower at the local high school. Residents with still-functional wells were snaking hoses over fences to nourish their neighbors.
The Orange County Water District delayed voting Wednesday on updated terms for buying water from the proposed Huntington Beach ocean desalination plant. Board members wanted more time to review the rate plan and gather additional community feedback on an updated rate sheet, which was made public Friday with the meeting agenda. Several community members, environmental activists and water district representatives raised concerns. The 10-member board voted unanimously to reconsider the proposal July 18. If approved, the non-binding, updated term sheet would shorten the length of the contract between the water district and Poseidon Water from 50 years to 30 or 35 years.
Acknowledging opponents’ concerns, the Orange County Water District board on Wednesday night postponed a vote on updated terms for buying water from the desalination plant proposed for Huntington Beach by Poseidon Resources. The nonbinding term sheet, which will be considered again July 18, would revise the groundwork for an eventual contract if Poseidon gets the final two regulatory permits needed for construction and the district decides to proceed. Some 18 residents, environmental activists and representatives from other water districts leveled criticism at the project, questioning the need, the cost and the track record of Poseidon’s 2 1/2-year-old desalter plant in Carlsbad.
Plans for an ocean desalination plant in Dana Point are moving forward with the recent release of a draft Environmental Impact Report and an upcoming public meeting to review the report’s findings, which state that if built, the project will not have any “unavoidable significant environmental impacts.” South Coast Water District, which provides water to several south-county cities and some Laguna Beach residents, released the draft report for the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project on May 23, which begins a 60-day public review period. The analysis evaluates the possible environmental impacts of producing desalinated drinking water.
A recent column in these pages accurately described how climate fluctuations every few years can affect water supply in Southern California. And yes, supply variations must be addressed by water resource agencies. A solution being considered by the Orange County Water District, purchasing desalinated seawater from Poseidon Resources, would create a continuous supply of new water — even in the years when we don’t need it. Since we know that the problem is the variability of our water supply, why commit to a $1 billion alternative that does not address the problem of water supply variability?
Managing our existing water supplies and planning for future needs requires thoughtful deliberation. Significant fluctuations in the manifestation and intensity of seasonal weather conditions, symptoms of climate change, are becoming the new normal and there is no “one size fits all approach” to dealing with its effects. Consider that, in just this current decade, California has gone from its most severe drought to one of its wettest winters in recorded history, and now back to a below-average winter snowpack this year.
Twenty years and $50 million into the process, officials with desalination plant purveyor Poseidon are optimistic they will get their final two permits — possibly by year’s end. Here are the key steps ahead for the plant in Huntington Beach: Term sheet. This non-binding working agreement lays the groundwork for an eventual contract for Poseidon to sell its water to the Orange County Water District. The district is currently updating its 2015 term sheet and may have a draft to present to the OCWD board in June. Federal financing. A Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan would reduce the cost of loans.
The day of reckoning is drawing near for Huntington Beach’s long-planned desalination plant, which would help quench Orange County’s thirst with sea water and free up imported water for the rest of the Southern California. Twenty years and $50 million into the process, officials with plant purveyor Poseidon are optimistic they will get their final two permits — possibly by year’s end. They tout the project as a drought-proof source of water that will provide a stable supplement to the more volatile groundwater and imported sources in a future filled with aquatic uncertainties.
