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As Arizona Looks to Desalination as a Drought Solution, Questions Mount

While Arizona received more rain and snow in recent months, a wet winter will not save the state from the decades-long mega-drought that is gripping the region. Water officials have worked on finding unique solutions, including desalination.

A Tale of Two Ocean Water Desalination Plants and Finding a Solution to Drought

New water conservation restrictions … ongoing drought … California clearly has a water problem. But lucky us — we live by the ocean! Why not take the salt out and use some of it for drinking?

“A knee-jerk reaction is: stick a straw in the ocean, bring water in, and we’ll never have to worry about the drought again,” said Garry Brown, the founder and director of the environmental group, Orange County Coastkeeper. “And it’s so much more complicated and on so many levels.”

Lawsuit Seeks to Block Poseidon Desalination Plant in Huntington Beach

Two environmental groups have sued the Regional Water Quality Control Board over its decision to grant a permit for Poseidon Water’s desalination plant proposed for Huntington Beach, saying the board’s environmental review of the project was inadequate.
Poseidon has been working on the controversial, $1.4 billion project for 22 years. The regional board’s approval on April 29 leaves the company needing one more permit, from the state Coastal Commission, before it can negotiate a final contract with the Orange County Water District and begin construction.

Opinion: San Diego’s Successful Desal Plant Should Be a Model for California Water Policy

Often the value of a plan or project can best be judged by its opposition. In the case of the proposed Poseidon desalination plant in Huntington Beach, the forces lined up against it are clear indicators that it’s a worthwhile enterprise.

Newsom Pushes Private Seawater Desalting Plant Over Local and Environmental Opposition

When Gov. Gavin Newsom was photographed dining at an opulent Napa Valley restaurant during a surge in coronavirus cases, many Californians saw it as hypocrisy. For opponents of a planned $1-billion desalination plant along the Orange County coast, however, the optics were menacing.

The unmasked Newsom was celebrating the birthday of a lobbyist for Poseidon Water, which is close to obtaining final government approval for one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants.

Tentative Order Released for Controversial Poseidon Water Project

The Santa Ana Regional Water Board released a tentative order Friday detailing proposed revisions to Poseidon Water’s controversial proposed $1.4-billion water desalination project in Huntington Beach.

Carlsbad Lagoon Dredging Starts Soon

Seawater desalination operator Poseidon is poised to take over the Agua Hedionda Lagoon maintenance dredging that has been done by local power companies since 1954.

Permits are being obtained for the work to begin in November or early December with expectations to finish by mid-April, said Poseidon Senior Vice President Peter MacLaggan at a meeting earlier this month of the Carlsbad Beach Preservation Commission.

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

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.

Controversial Poseidon Desalination Plant in Huntington Beach Set for Hearings This Week

Poseidon Water’s seawater desalination plant in Huntington Beach, first proposed in 1998, could be getting closer to beginning construction after more than two decades.

Poseidon’s Desalination Plant Faces Day of Reckoning

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.