Desalination plant debate continues

Dave Brooks

Is Orange County’s future water supply half empty or half full?

It depends on whom you ask. Officials with Connecticut-based

Poseidon Resources argue that Southern California is in dire need of

a new water supply and would benefit from the company’s proposed

$250-million Huntington Beach desalination plant.

Environmental groups contend the situation is exaggerated and that

Orange County can meet its future needs through simple conservation

measures and advancements in water recycling and reclamation.

The debate will likely play a major role in a scheduled set of

City Council hearings to look at the possible impact of the facility,

proposed to be built by the AES power plant.

The desalination facility would produce about 50 million gallons

of drinking water per day, pumping in seawater through AES’s ocean

intake line. Using a process called reverse osmosis, the water would

then be sent through a series of highly pressurized membrane filters,

separating the salt molecules from water molecules. The remaining

salt waste would be combined with more water from the plant and

delivered back to the sea through AES’s outfall line.

Poseidon officials argue that this water supply is instrumental to

Orange County, which is expected to grow by nearly 26% in the next 25

years.

“This plant is just one component of a larger plan to diversify

California’s water resources,” Poseidon official Billy Owens said.

“The Metropolitan Water District has outlined a number of sources for

future water supply and desalination is a component of that plan.”

Poseidon officials point out that 10 additional desalination

plants are already being planned for California that would provide

240 million gallons a day of fresh water. Unlike the Poseidon

endeavor, however, the proposed plants are all being undertaken by

public agencies.

Metropolitan Water District Board Member Wes Bannister said he

believes that approach is more appropriate for a Huntington Beach

facility. He said he believes desalination is inevitable in

Huntington Beach, given its proximity to the ocean, water recharge

facilities and already existing infrastructure, but believes a water

agency should undertake the project.

“I think there’s a lot of concerns that a private company could go

belly-up taking on such a complicated project, leaving us with a

desalination plant that doesn’t work,” he said.

Others argue that California’s water needs can be met with

conservation measures. Jonas Minton of the Planning and Conservation

League said that a recent report by the group found that California

can meet all of its future water needs simply by increasing urban and

agricultural water conservation practices.

“We already have proof that in the last 10 years, basic

conservation efforts have dramatically decreased the amount of water

we use,” he said. “While the state has continued to grow, water use

has continued to drop.”

Everything from low-flow toilets and showerheads to the use of

native plants for landscaping have improved California’s water

picture, he said. Minton also said that recycling efforts, like the

groundwater replenishment system currently operated by the Orange

County Sanitation District to convert sewage water back to drinking

water, have improved water supplies.

“This is a cost-effective method with little environmental

impact,” he said. “We need to change the paradigm that desalination

can save the state and start looking at what we can do around our own

homes.”

* DAVE BROOKS covers City Hall. He can be reached at (714)

966-4609 or by e-mail at dave.brooks@

latimes.com.