Why This California Commission Unanimously Rejected a New Water Desalination Plant

Calfornia already has 12 water desalination plants — with 15 more proposed, one local news station reported last year. "These plants, which experts say weren't viable or aren't as needed as they were 20 years ago, are being looked at now in a more critical light in the struggle to adapt to less rainfall and climate change." In 2015 Slashdot covered the launch of a desalination plant in in Carlsbad, California. "56 million gallons a day," brags its web site now. "The Pacific is now on tap." And this year the same company, Poseidon Water, had wanted to build another desalination plant 60 miles north. But the Associated Press reports it just hit a roadblock with the state's Coastal Commission. Poseidon's long-running proposal was supported by Governor Gavin Newsom but faced ardent opposition from environmentalists who said drawing in large amounts of ocean water and releasing salty discharge back into the ocean would kill billions of tiny marine organisms that make up the base of the food chain along a large swath of the coast. "The ocean is under attack" from climate change already, Commissioner Dayna Bochco said. "I cannot say in good conscience that this amount of damage is OK." Other critics said the water would be too expensive and wasn't urgently needed in the area where it would be built, which is less dependent on state and federal water due to an ample aquifer and water recycling program. Commissioners cited those issues in following a staff recommendation and rejecting the proposal. They also cited the energy cost of running the plant and the fact that it would sit in an earthquake fault zone. The vote against the plant was unanimous, CNN reports. And yet... Commission staff did acknowledge in the report that its findings do not mean that the project is "unapprovable," nor that it is completely against desalination, writing: "Staff acknowledge the need to develop new, reliable sources of water in southern California, and believe that well-planned and sited desalination facilities will likely play a role in providing these supplies." But CNN also notes California has other options: Research by the Pacific Institute, a water-focused think tank, found California could substantially reduce its urban water use by 30 to 48% with existing and cutting-edge technologies. In its recent report, the institute argued that "water efficiency opportunities can be found across the state but are highest in the South Coast hydrologic region." It pointed to solutions that cost very little compared to desalination, including increased wastewater recycling and stormwater capture — with about two-thirds of the region's potential water savings coming from the residential sector. "Seawater desalination is among the most expensive water supply options," Heather Cooley, Pacific Institute's director of research, told CNN. "From a cost perspective, from an environmental one, from an energy perspective, doing these other alternatives first makes the most sense for California." Thanks to Slashdot reader schwit1 for submitting the article!

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