SOUNDING OFF:

As a charter member of Residents 4 Responsible Desalination (R4RD) I spent 12 hours at Carlsbad Nov. 15 at the Coastal Commission’s hearing concerning Poseidon’s request for a desalination plant there. The thing that was horrifying to us was that there were hours of testimony and not one plain citizen spoke for or against this project. The Coastal Commission staff recommended denying the project with all the information against it. Surfrider hired a wonderful attorney Marco Gonzalez who told them the facts but no one listened. The commission in a 9-3 vote overrode the staff’s recommendation.

The reason I am writing this is that I don’t want it to happen to us when Poseidon comes back to Huntington Beach for the go-ahead for a desalination plant here. This same company was approved by Cathy Green, Gil Coerper, Don Hansen and Keith Bohr. It was a 4-3 vote as Debbie Cook, Jill Hardy and then-Mayor Dave Sullivan voted against the project. An international private company was approved to take 100 million gallons of ocean water a day, 365 days a year, to make potable water. The company will send 50 million gallons of water back daily to the AES plant where it will be put back into the ocean twice as salty as it was when it was taken from the ocean. This potable water will not be for Huntington Beach. We don’t need it until 2020. No one has guaranteed the cost for the water. It has been estimated to cost $2,000 to $3,000 a square acre foot.

Poseidon has never produced water of this volume. It is a managerial company that hires people to do the work. In Carlsbad the Coastal Commission heard six hours of people telling of their need for Poseidon, including a letter from Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland), state Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) in person, most council people from the city of Carlsbad, every chamber of commerce in the area and two labor representatives. We all know there is a water shortage but not one person mentioned the record of this company.

Carlsbad doesn’t have a permit from the State Lands Commission and the Coastal Commission still voted 9-3 to approve the project. Fortunately, there are 20 mitigating items which Poseidon has to come back to the commission to have approved before they can start.

Carlsbad citizens were asleep at the switch. Don’t let this happen to Huntington Beach. We don’t want our water privatized. Poseidon’s water will be exorbitantly expensive if the company ever gets it produced. Our streets don’t need to be torn up getting it out of town. Since we don’t need it they have to pipe it to Costa Mesa.

This is the time for our citizens to get educated and organized and be ready when Poseidon comes back to the Huntington Beach City Council.

Mark Twain put it right many years ago when he said: “Whiskey is made for drinking. Water is for fighting over.” The people of Carlsbad sold the farm. Don’t let it happen to us.

Let’s save our water for ourselves. When we need it, the industry will have a better method for desalination than the antiquated “once-through” cooling system Poseidon has promised Huntington Beach.

EILEEN MURPHY lives in Huntington Beach.