US

Desalination advances in California despite opponents pushing for alternatives – California

Environmentalists say desalination decimates ocean life, costs too much money and energy, and soon will be made obsolete by water recycling. But as Western states face an epic drought, regulators appear ready to approve a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, California.

After spending 22 years and $100 million navigating a thicket of state regulations and environmentalists’ challenges, Poseidon Water is down to one major regulatory hurdle – the California Coastal Commission.

The company feels confident enough to talk of breaking ground by the end of next year on the $1.4 billion plant that would produce some 50 million gallons of drinking water daily.

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Diablo Canyon and desalination – California

We in California face a historically deep drought advancing on our state, in addition to the global warming increase that takes our Western U.S. water more every day.

Yet, what are politicians fretting about? The plight of our Golden State? Not so much. The governor worries about the recall and where donations will come from for that next office.

Sacramento politicians worry about what they always focus on—where will money come from for that next election. Of course they focus on Big Oil and Gas donations. The people can’t afford to fund elections anymore with million dollar and up price tags.

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California Should Fund Local Drought Resilience Projects Like San Diego and Sacramento – California

On July 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded two earlier drought emergency declarations to cover 50 of the state’s 58 counties.

In May, he directed state agencies to consider easing requirements for reservoir releases to conserve water upstream, and to make water transfers easier. Both are needed.

Notably, the governor’s emergency proclamation did not impose water conservation mandates. Instead, Newsom is leaving water conservation to each region — a smart and necessary approach that incentivizes regional investments in water supply. 

Bill aims to help turn recycled wastewater into high-quality drinking water – California

Declining Sierra snowfall and continuing drought conditions have some people looking at recycling wastewater as a stable source of supplies in the future.

Many Bay Area districts are already tapping into lower-quality recycled water for outdoor use. Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Vice-Chair Gary Kremen says it’s about 5% of their supply.

“Most of our recycled water today is used for outdoor irrigation and some slight amount is used for cooling towers,” said Kremen.

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Port of CC commissioners vote to purchase more than 700 acres from Cheniere – Texas – United States

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority expanded its portfolio with the purchase of two separate parcels of land equaling more than 700 acres of San Patricio County property from Cheniere Energy.

Last Tuesday, port authority commissioners voted to adopt a resolution authorizing closing on a commercial contract which would see the port purchase a 552.087-acre tract of land in Ingleside on the La Quinta Channel and 158.65-acre tract of land south of Taft.

“We’ve been in serious negotiations with Cheniere for over half a year on this property,” Port of Corpus Christi Chief Financial Officer Kent Britton said.

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San Diego Is Relatively Drought-Proof – and Has Prices to Prove it – California

The 2021 California drought is as bad if not worse as the one in 2014, which endured for five long, dry years. As of Friday, 33 percent is in a state of “exceptional drought,” the most severe drought category given by the federal U.S. Drought Monitor.

Farmers in the Central Valley are ripping up almond trees, according to Bloomberg. Those living along the headwaters of the Russian River in Mendicino County have been told to use no more than 55 gallons per day – enough to flush a toilet six times, according to CalMatters.

Santa Clara Water District voted this month to place 15 percent water reduction targets on residents countywide, according to San Jose Inside.

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South Orange County gears up for future droughts, water emergencies – California

While the water districts of south Orange County appear well-poised to handle this second year of drought, most of that region is almost entirely dependent on imported water and officials are busy developing alternative sources.

An online gathering of top water officials on Friday, June 25, detailed the current water availability in south county and outlined projects to supplant imports should future flows from northern California and the Colorado River be curtailed by dwindling supplies or interrupted by earthquakes.

“The bad news for California as a whole and the West overall is that we’re in a serious drought,” said Rob Hunter, general manager of the Municipal Water District of Orange County. His district receives imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and distributes it to local agencies in the county.

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Regional Water Board Approves Poseidon Permit, Coastal Commission to Weigh in Next – California

Poseidon Water has been granted a permit from the local water board for its controversial desalination plant in Huntington Beach, a project that has been in the works for roughly two decades.

Poseidon will still need to get approval from the California Coastal Commission in order to move forward with plans and will still need to finalize a purchase agreement with the Orange County Water District in order to have customers.

At the continued Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board hearing on April 29, the board voted 4-3 to approve a permit for Poseidon’s project after discussing and clarifying language, mitigation, and discharge requirements.

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Monterey venture moves a step closer to increasing area water supply – California

The 10 members of the board of Monterey One Water all voted to approve an environmental document called a supplemental environmental impact report, or SEIR, that advances closer to the expansion of its regional treatment plant.

Monterey One is the sewer treatment provider in northern Monterey County that has invested in proven technology that can purify wastewater to the degree it becomes drinkable.

It is then reintroduced into local groundwater. Typically people only use just 10% of their fresh water for drinking and cooking, according to research from Columbia University. The rest is flushed away. That’s some of the water Monterey One wants to capture.

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Water Authority Offers to Help Parched Areas of California with Stored Supply in Central Valley -California

The San Diego County Water Authority’s board has directed its staff to explore opportunities to help other water districts weather an emerging drought across California.

The authority said that because of three decades of investment in supply reliability, along with a continued emphasis on water-use efficiency, the San Diego region has sufficient water supplies for multiple dry years.

Those investments include high-priority Colorado River water from the Imperial Valley, seawater desalination, and access to the Semitropic Original Water Bank in Kern County, where the authority has stored about 16,000 acre-feet of water — enough to supply more than 30,000 homes for a full year.

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