Pure Water Oceanside is the first operating advanced water purification facility in San Diego County, providing a new local supply. The facility was officially dedicated with a celebration Tuesday in Oceanside. Elected officials and water leaders throughout Southern California commemorated the milestone which coincided with World Water Day.
California’s Department of Water Resources Friday announced that due to the ongoing statewide drought, it must reduce the State Water Project allocation to 5% of requested supplies for 2022, but San Diego County Water Authority officials said they remain confident in the region’s supply.
As the worst drought in 1,200 years grips the West, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is protecting the San Diego region with 50 million gallons a day of drought-proof water.
Completed in 2015, the plant was built before the period of increasing inflation that’s driving up prices for water infrastructure projects that are just starting. That means the desal plant is safeguarding the region’s economy and quality of life today at a lower cost than it would be to build now.
As the worst drought in 1,200 years grips the West, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is protecting the San Diego region with 50 million gallons a day of drought-proof water.
Completed in 2015, the plant was built before the period of increasing inflation that’s driving up prices for water infrastructure projects that are just starting. That means the desal plant is safeguarding the region’s economy and quality of life today at a lower cost than it would be to build now.
In fact, water from the plant costs average homeowners about $5 more a month – about the cost of a latte. The San Diego County Water Authority buys water produced at the plant from Poseidon Water under a contract that protects ratepayers. Because the plant was developed as a public-private partnership, key risks associated with the construction and operation of the plant were shifted to Poseidon. Accordingly, water is paid for as it is produced and prices adjust predictably based on contractually specified indices. Ratepayers do face less predictable cost impacts from rising energy prices, but that is no different from any other new publicly owned water supply project.
“The Carlsbad plant is an important regional asset and its value is highlighted by the ongoing megadrought,” said Jeremy Crutchfield, a water resources manager for the Water Authority. “The cost of water is higher than conventional sources, but so is the reliability – and that’s never looked more important than it does today.”
On the environmental front, Poseidon is committed to keeping the Carlsbad plant carbon-neutral through state-of-the-art energy recovery devices, mitigation projects and securing carbon credits. In addition, upgrades to the plant’s intake and discharge systems will be completed by the end of 2023, in compliance with a 2019 permit.
Three new fish-friendly seawater intake pumps, recently commissioned at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, are among the most environmentally advanced intake pumps in the world. The pumps are part of a broader effort to ensure the long-term health of the marine environment near the Plant, which sits on the shores of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Another positive: There’s no signs of plant impacts to the coastal waters, which are protected by some of the world’s most aggressive standards through the California Coastal Act and the California Ocean Plan. While the facility was cited by regulators in 2019, importantly, no enforcement action was taken as regulators recognized the problems were with formulas in the permit and not the actual plant discharges.
At the start of operations, project managers also navigated a series of ramp-up challenges common with any large industrial facility. Since then, Poseidon has made capital improvements to its pretreatment system and invested in advanced monitoring and control technologies at company expense.
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant uses reverse osmosis to produce approximately 10% of the region’s water supply; it is a core supply regardless of weather conditions, and it is blended with water from other sources for regional distribution. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
In 2021, the plant produced more than 51,000 acre-feet of water and the volumes are projected to be at least 50,000 acre-feet in 2022 as well. That’s enough water to meet more than 10% of regional demand – which is met through a diversified portfolio of conserved water, groundwater, recycled water and other sources.
“Desalination remains a valuable tool for our community when it comes to ensuring safe and reliable water supplies no matter the weather,” Crutchfield said. “It has shown its value by generating nearly 90 billion gallons over the past six years, and I’m confident it will continue to do so in the years ahead.”
Two things are true about the cost of water in San Diego: the cost of bringing water here and maintaining the system that does it is rising, but the amount of water San Diegans consume is dropping.
In 1990, the average San Diegan used 235 gallons of drinkable water per day, according to the Water Authority’s records. By 2021, San Diegans cut that almost in half to 130 gallons per day. Megadroughts that triggered mandatory water cutbacks triggered better water conservation habits, which stuck.
But while San Diegans are using less, the costs they pay continue to rise. The cost of San Digeo’s water supply is expected to rise anywhere from 5.5 to 10 percent beginning in 2023, with hefty hikes continuing in the years thereafter.
“Long after I’m dust, these supplies will be valuable to this region,” said Gary Arant, who leads the Valley Center Municipal Water District, of the haul of water rights San Diego has locked up. “Right now, we’ve got a lot of water. It’s expensive, but I think the decisions we made were good.”
Californians used 2.6% more water in January compared to before the drought emergency was declared, a sign that urban residents are ignoring the state’s pleas to take the drought seriously and cut back.
The increased water use in California’s cities and towns came during the second-driest January on record, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack continues to dwindle — and another dry summer looms.
The new data, which details urban water use statewide, shows that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s repeated pleas for a 15% voluntary cutback in water use are failing to reach people in cities and towns. Yet Newsom has stopped short of issuing a mandatory order.
Fix a Leak Week is a time to check indoor and outdoor plumbing systems for leaks. This year’s reminder about water conservation comes as California and much of the U.S. Southwest are in the third consecutive year of drought.
Minor water leaks account for more than one-trillion gallons of water wasted each year in homes across the United States. One-trillion gallons equals 3.068 million acre-feet, nearly enough water to meet the needs of San Diego County for seven years.
The optimism spurred by heavy snowstorms in December has melted away, and the 2022 water year is now looking bleak.
After facing the driest recorded January and February in state history, California Department of Water Resources reported that statewide, the snowpack stood at 63% of average for the date last week after conducting the agency’s third manual snow survey of the year.
February total precipitation was record low at over 200 Snow Telemetry sites, leading to continued expansion of snow drought conditions across the West. Fifty percent of the SNOTEL sites now have snow water equivalent that is less than one-third of historical conditions, up from 22% in early February. In California, the driest January and February in state history has led to a March 1 statewide snowpack of less than 70% of average, down from 160% at the start of the new year.
Prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State of the State speech, there is one item to examine that serves as a building block for all the issues the governor will address – water.
Despite unexpected storms in late 2021, California is braced for another year of drought.
The water we do have must move throughout the state by way of a complicated system of reservoirs, dams, canals, pipes and treatment plants. That movement is managed by an equally complicated network of federal, state and local officials.
