Recurrent droughts and uncertainties about future water supplies
have led several California communities to look to saltwater for
supplemental supplies through a process known as desalination.
Island-dweller Lori Snell grimaced as she tallied her bill
recently at the Avalon Laundry — nearly $50 for three large
loads. … That preoccupation with water has now become
critical as severe drought grips California and its
Channel Islands — a rugged, eight-isle archipelago that hosts
several human outposts and a handful of species that exist
nowhere else on Earth. But although some of the island’s
wildlife is struggling for survival, conditions for humans are
a little different today than in droughts past, due largely to
a desalination plant that opened in Avalon in 2016. The plant
today provides about 40% of Avalon’s drinking water.
In some of the most arid places around the world, more than
16,000 seawater desalination systems enable countries from
Saudi Arabia to Israel, Morocco to Australia, to remove salt
from ocean water to generate fresh drinking water. Well before
before California entered its driest period on
record, Gov. Gavin Newsom ’89 has supported
building a second major coastal desalination plant as a partial
solution to the Golden State’s water woes.
California is currently suffering through its worst drought in
over 1,200 years, a fact painfully illustrated by a hot, dry
summer, nearly empty reservoirs, and a historically diminished
Colorado River. New water restrictions have gone into effect
across the state. As California scrambles to conserve water,
desalination plants, facilities that use reverse osmosis
filters to purify seawater and transform it into drinking
water, have increasingly become part of the discussion.
After a high profile, decades-long battle to build a
desalination plant in Huntington Beach ended in denial, all
eyes will be on the California Coastal Commission as it
considers whether or not to approve two smaller desalination
projects this fall. Commissioners are tentatively scheduled to
consider the Doheny Ocean Desalination project in October. The
project, based in Orange County, could produce up to 5 million
gallons of potable water per day, according to the
project’s environmental impact report. The project is
expected to cost $140 million, and $32.4 million in grants have
been secured thus far, Southern California Water District
Public Information Specialist Sheena Johnson told The Center
Square.
The Marin Municipal Water District took a deeper look at some
of the more complex and expensive options on the table for new
supply: desalination plants and recycled water. The district
board and consultants with the Jacobs Engineering firm held
discussion Tuesday on the preliminary cost estimates, water
yields and challenges of building desalination plants and
expanding the district’s recycled water system.
Picture the ocean shore, but underground, there’s a line where
the freshwater and the seawater meet, called the salt line.
This salt line moves with the tides. But rising sea levels and
an increase of people living by the shore tapping into
freshwater underground can also pull more saltwater from the
ocean toward the land. … [P]laces all around the U.S. and the
world are now starting to study this problem. … California is
going through drought conditions. Aridification refers to the
climate getting drier in the long term, not just in seasonal
drought cycles.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Southern California
Edison’s (SCE) first desalination plant on Catalina Island. The
desalination process strips salt out of ocean water from two
underground saltwater beach wells to make it drinkable. The
desalination plant was considered a developing technology in
1992. It was the first ocean water to drinking water plant on
the West Coast and one of the first prototypes in the country.
SCE built the first desalination plant in response to the
development of the nearby Hamilton Cove condominiums and the
drought in the late 1980s.
This May, the California Coastal Commission unanimously
rejected the proposed $1.4 billion dollar Huntington Beach
Desalination Plant for environmental reasons. Set on a
low-lying coastal site, the Commission was concerned that the
facility’s location exposed it to rising sea levels, and that
its process for converting 50 million gallons of drinking water
per day would harm marine life in 100 billion gallons of
seawater each year. … Gov. Newsom supported the plant,
calling desal “more tools in the tool kit,” … So who do
you believe?
There are two schools of thought on how to navigate the West’s
historic drought: Use less water or find new ways to make more
of it usable. A few cities are trying to do both, and so far,
it’s spared them from some of the most stringent drought
restrictions. In the last drought, Santa Monica used to rely
heavily on water imported from Northern California. But now
less than half of Santa Monica’s water is imported, which
spared them from the mandatory outdoor water restrictions that
began at the beginning of June.
After more than 20 years, a June letter to Southern California
water officials might spell the end for the Poseidon Water
company’s desalinated dreams in Huntington Beach, once and for
all. The fatal blow came in May, from within the Hilton
in Costa Mesa, where California Coastal Commissioners
unanimously rejected Poseidon’s bid to build a desalting plant
by the AES generating station in the city’s south end. In
striking the project down, commissioners cited what would be
higher water rates, marine life loss, and impacts to poor
households already living near industrial areas, from a project
that would have taken 100 million daily gallons of seawater,
desalted half of it, and discharged the other half back as
saltier brine.
A plant that removes salt from water is now running in Menifee,
giving officials another tool to reduce their reliance on
imported water as California’s drought continues. The Eastern
Municipal Water District opened its third groundwater
desalination plant, the Perris II Groundwater Desalination
Facility, on Thursday, June 23. The plant will remove salt
from underground water basins tapped by wells in Perris —
nearly 5.4 million gallons of water per day, according to the
water district.
Neighborhoods throughout Menifee and Sun City show evidence of
water conservation. Front yards are no longer covered with
grass, but are covered with decorative rock instead. Not
to be outdone, the water agency that serves the area just
unveiled its third water desalination facility. The plant
will allow Eastern Municipal Water District to treat
underground water that’s too salty to drink and make it safe to
consume.
Marin Municipal Water District will hold a series of meetings
focused on adding new water sources. The district, which serves
191,000 central and southern Marin residents, launched a water
supply study in March as it faced depleting its local reservoir
supplies after two years of severe drought. On Tuesday, staff
will provide the district Board of Directors a first-time
overview of the various water supply options the agency could
consider as it looks to bolster its supply … desalination,
increasing local reservoir storage, groundwater banking in
Sonoma County, increasing water imports from the Russian River,
expansion of recycled water systems, conservation measures and
a pipeline across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
The Colorado River’s precipitous decline pushed Arizona
lawmakers to deliver Gov. Doug Ducey’s $1 billion water
augmentation fund — and then some — late Friday, their final
night in session. Before the votes, the growing urgency for
addressing the state’s oncoming water shortage and the
long timeline for approving and building new water projects
nearly sank the legislation.
As the State of California faces a record drought, ocean
desalination has been highlighted as a potentially more
reliable alternative to imported water. Following the
California Coastal Commission’s (CCC) unanimous vote to deny
permits for the Brookfield-Poseidon Desalination plant in
Huntington Beach last month, the South Coast Water District
(SCWD) is working to obtain all major permits for its own
desalination plant near Doheny by the end of the year. The
local water district is looking to produce up to five million
gallons of potable drinking water a day by 2027 through its
proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination project.
Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) today celebrated the
opening of its new groundwater desalination facility, which
will provide additional local water supply reliability to its
service area for future generations. The Perris II Desalination
Facility is EMWD’s third groundwater desalter and will provide
enough water for more than 15,000 households each year through
its reverse osmosis treatment process. The facility is located
in Menifee, adjacent to the existing Menifee I and Perris I
desalters.
The southern part of California’s Central Coast from San Luis Obispo County to Ventura County, home to about 1.5 million people, is blessed with a pleasing Mediterranean climate and a picturesque terrain. Yet while its unique geography abounds in beauty, the area perpetually struggles with drought.
Indeed, while the rest of California breathed a sigh of relief with the return of wet weather after the severe drought of 2012–2016, places such as Santa Barbara still grappled with dry conditions.
Even as stakeholders in the Colorado River Basin celebrate the recent completion of an unprecedented drought plan intended to stave off a crashing Lake Mead, there is little time to rest. An even larger hurdle lies ahead as they prepare to hammer out the next set of rules that could vastly reshape the river’s future.
Set to expire in 2026, the current guidelines for water deliveries and shortage sharing, launched in 2007 amid a multiyear drought, were designed to prevent disputes that could provoke conflict.
Although Santa Monica may be the most aggressive Southern California water provider to wean itself from imported supplies, it is hardly the only one looking to remake its water portfolio.
In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million people, efforts are underway to dramatically slash purchases of imported water while boosting the amount from recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation. Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 announced a plan to reduce the city’s purchase of imported water from Metropolitan Water District by one-half by 2025 and to provide one-half of the city’s supply from local sources by 2035. (The city considers its Eastern Sierra supplies as imported water.)
This 2-day, 1-night tour offered participants the opportunity to
learn about water issues affecting California’s scenic Central
Coast and efforts to solve some of the challenges of a region
struggling to be sustainable with limited local supplies that
have potential applications statewide.
This issue examines desalination and the role it could play in
the future of water supply. In addition to an explanation of the
basics of the technology, the article looks at costs,
environmental impacts and groundwater application. Pilot
desalination projects are featured, including a much-touted
Carlsbad, Calif., facility that promises to substantially boost
that region’s water supply.
This printed issue of Western Water examines
desalination – an issue that is marked by great optimism and
controversy – and the expected role it might play as an
alternative water supply strategy.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at the energy
requirements associated with water use and the means by which
state and local agencies are working to increase their knowledge
and improve the management of both resources.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Salt. In a small amount, it’s a gift from nature. But any doctor
will tell you, if you take in too much salt, you’ll start to have
health problems. The same negative effect is happening to land in
the Central Valley. The problem scientists call “salinity” poses
a growing threat to our food supply, our drinking water quality
and our way of life. The problem of salt buildup and potential –
but costly – solutions are highlighted in this 2008 public
television documentary narrated by comedian Paul Rodriguez.
A 20-minute version of the 2008 public television documentary
Salt of the Earth: Salinity in California’s Central Valley. This
DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking
engagements to help the public understand the complex issues
surrounding the problem of salt build up in the Central Valley
potential – but costly – solutions. Narrated by comedian Paul
Rodriquez.
20-minute DVD that explains the problem with polluted stormwater,
and steps that can be taken to help prevent such pollution and
turn what is often viewed as a “nuisance” into a water resource
through various activities.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the principles of IRWM,
its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water
management approach.
As the state’s population continues to grow and traditional water
supplies grow tighter, there is increased interest in reusing
treated wastewater for a variety of activities, including
irrigation of crops, parks and golf courses, groundwater recharge
and industrial uses.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta always has been at the mercy of
river flows and brackish tides.
Before human intervention, salty ocean water from the San
Francisco Bay flooded the vast Delta marshes during dry summers
when mountain runoff ebbed. Then, during winter, heavy runoff
from the mountains repelled sea water intrusion.
Recurrent droughts and uncertainties about future water supplies
have led several California communities to look to treat salty
water for supplemental supplies through a process known as
desalination.
Desalination removes salt and other dissolved minerals from water
and is one method to reclaim water for other uses. This can occur
with ocean water along the coast and in the interior at spots
that draw from ancient salt water deep under the surface or where
groundwater has been tainted
by too much salt.
It seems not a matter of if but when seawater desalination will
fulfill the promise of providing parts of California with a
reliable, drought-proof source of water. With a continuing
drought and uncertain water deliveries, the state is in the grip
of a full-on water crisis, and there are many people who see
desalination as a way to provide some relief to areas struggling
to maintain an adequate water supply.
“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” – Samuel
Taylor Coleridge
For time immemorial, the seas of the Earth have been seen as an
enticing but unreachable source of fresh water. Separating the
salt from ocean water was always a cost prohibitive process,
primarily reserved to wealthy Middle Eastern nations and
small-scale operations such as ocean-bound vessels and small
islands. Otherwise, through the evolution of modern civilization,
man has depended upon lakes, rivers and groundwater – a supply
that comprises less than 3 percent of the planet’s total water.
