Poseidon promises to be good neighbor

Jenny Marder

A Poseidon official assured the Planning Commission Tuesday that a

new desalination plant would be quiet, unobtrusive and odor free.

“I think it will be a very quiet and discrete neighbor,” said Bill

Owens, vice president of the Poseidon Resources Corp. “It’s low

impact and it won’t be very noisy.”

At a presentation at the commission’s study session on Tuesday

night, Ricky Ramos, the city’s associate city planner unveiled site

plans and landscaping designs for the proposed plant.

The desalination plant, which would be built next door to the AES

Huntington Beach power plant at 21730 Newland St., would produce 50

million gallons of potable, or drinkable, water per day. The city’s

groundwater source has been depleted after four years of drought.

Using a treatment method known as reverse osmosis, the plant would

pump in water from the ocean and run it through a filtration system

that would screen out salt and other impurities and produce a pure

form of drinking water.

The potable water would then be sent through a 10-mile

transmission pipeline from Huntington Beach to the Mesa Consolidated

Water District in Costa Mesa.

From there, it would be delivered to the other parts of the

county.

The site plan showed an 11-acre facility bordered by Newland

Street, Pacific Coast Highway and Edison Avenue. The plant would

house about a dozen structures including buildings for

administration, reverse osmosis, solids handling, chemical storage,

tanks for ammonia, wash water and product water and two pump

stations.

Of the four unused 40-foot fuel storage tanks that are now on the

site, three would have to be demolished.

City staff has been working with Poseidon to make the design as

attractive as an industrial plant can be, Ramos said.

“We want building lines that are more visually appealing and

interesting,” he said. “The new tank will be modern and lower than

the existing tanks. It’s more attractive than what’s existing.”

Some residents from the Southeast area of the city spoke out

against the plant, which would be built in an area designated for

redevelopment.

“The area is evolving,” said Richard Loy, who lives a quarter mile

from the AES plant. “I have real problems with allowing more heavy

industry into the area. Redevelopment is supposed to upgrade, not

downgrade an area.”

Others were worried that it would emit odors and spew out

particles.

Owens said that there will be no odors or emissions coming out of

the plant and that noise would range from 50 to 55 decibels, which he

said is equivalent to daytime traffic on residential streets.

The project would benefit the city, he added, by providing

property tax revenue to the city and an additional emergency water

source in case of drought.

The Planning Commission voted to delay the public hearing two

weeks to give the commissioners time to review the staff report for

the project. Staff is hoping to hold the public hearing on May 27,

Ramos said.

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at jenny.marder@latimes.com.