Support of Poseidon’s Desalination at Stake in Water Board Election
Poseidon Water’s long, winding road to building a desalination plant in Huntington Beach could face its biggest obstacle yet if opponents prevail in the upcoming election.
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Water Officials Push Back Decision on Huntington Beach Desal Project Yet Again
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Voice of OCby Brandon PhoState 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.
Water Supply Remains Safe, Sufficient as Pandemic Endures
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Event-News Enterprise (Seal Beach, Calif.)by Jordan BrandmanAugust is Water Quality Month, a perfect time to educate ourselves about how and why we can rely on clean water each time we turn on the tap. Groundwater from your local Orange County groundwater basin makes up about 77% of the total water needed for consumers. Your city or water agency buys about 23% of imported water from Northern California or the Colorado River to make up the difference.
Public Argues For, Against Huntington Beach Desalination Plant, Decision Near
/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Voice of OCby Brandon PhoThe 20-year battle between seawater desalters and Orange County environmentalists and community activists neared a turning point Thursday, the first in a series of final public hearings around a Huntington Beach desalination plant proposal before local regulators.
Hearings and public comments at the state regional water board started Thursday, are continuing today, and could continue to Aug. 7, if needed, with a vote on the required permits for the $1 billion water desalting project planned at the end of the hearings.
Proposed by the Poseidon Water company, the project has become one of the largest battles over Orange County’s coastline in decades.
Polls Show Public Support for Two O.C. Desalination Proposals
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /The Orange County Registerby Martin WisckolPublic support for proposed desalination plants in Huntington Beach and Dana Point appears strong in two recent polls, although opponents call the surveys biased and say neither poll addresses key obstacles facing these very different projects.
One poll showed 76% support among Huntington Beach residents for the proposal there. Another said support ranged from 64% to 80% for the project located near Doheny State Beach, depending on how the question was framed.
Orange County Awarded Grant to Increase Drinking Water Supply
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Water Finance & ManagementThe Orange County Water District has been awarded a $3.6 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) grant program for use toward the construction of its Groundwater Replenishment System Final Expansion project. Operational since 2008, the GWRS is undergoing its second and final expansion.
Orange County Water Districts Consider Massive Lawsuit Over PFAS Contamination
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Inland Valley Daily Bulletinby Martin WisckolNine Orange County water agencies have retained a legal team to study whether to file suit to recoup the estimated $450 million cost of purifying drinking water in local wells contaminated with PFAS chemicals.
The PFAS compounds — long used in Scotchguard, Teflon and other products — have leached into groundwater supplies over several decades and have been linked to a variety of health problems, including cancer, liver and kidney damages and ulcerative colitis.
It’s likely that 3M and DuPont, the primary manufacturers of PFAS products, would be defendants.
Regulators Express Concerns About Huntington Beach Desalination Project
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /The Orange County Registerby Martin WisckolThe Poseidon desalination plant proposed for Huntington Beach could be facing rough waters ahead, as several regulatory officials on Friday expressed concerns over the controversial plan..
During a Regional Water Quality Control Board workshop held online, three of the agency’s six board members persistently pressed local officials about the need, consumer cost and environmental harm of the $1 billion project.
The board is tentatively scheduled to a vote July 31 on one of two permits still needed by Poseidon Water before it can negotiate a final contract and begin construction on a project that that company has been pursuing for two decades. The proposal needs four votes from the regional board before it can go before the Coastal Commission for its last permit.
The Orange County Water District, the prospective purchaser of the water, has been attracted to the desalination project because it’s drought-proof and would protect its service area of 2.5 million residents from shortages of imported water. Currently, about 23% of the district’s water is imported.
City Enters Agreement with Water District for PFAS Treatment
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Fullerton Observerby Jesse LatourCouncil voted 5-0 to approve a 30-year agreement with Orange County Water District (OCWD) which will provide funding for construction of PFAS (groundwater contaminant) treatment plants and a portion of ongoing operational and maintenance costs for impacted Fullerton water wells, at their April 21 meeting.
‘Forever Chemicals’ in Orange County Drinking Water to Force Widespread Well Closures
/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Daily Newsby Martin WisckolThe Orange County Water District, which serves 2.5 million county residents, expects to see nearly a third of the 200 groundwater wells in its service area shut down by year’s end because of the presence of toxic PFAS, a chemical family linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, low birth weight and other health problems.
Nine of those wells have already been closed and 32 more are expected to be closed in coming weeks as state regulators continue to lower acceptable thresholds for the toxins, according to district officials. As many as 31 additional wells could be shut down after testing is expanded later this year.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
