Environmental Groups Block Desalination | Other

Environmental Groups Block Desalination

Wednesday, 18 March 2009

Environmental Groups Blocking Desalination

San Diego Coastkeepers and Sufrider Foundation Continue Their Effort to Block the Construction of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant While the Shortage in Water Supply Keeps Mounting

(San Diego, CA) -- The Metropolitan Water District, a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that provides drinking water to nearly 17 million people in Southern California, has seen its water reserve drop roughly 50% in the last year, from 3 acre-foot to 1.6 acre-foot. The drop is partly due to drought, environmental protection acts, and pollution.

To replenish water supplies, cities and water districts are seeking various alternatives to the current water sources, including the construction of desalination plants. Adding to the push for salty-to-fresh water conversion, Poseidon, a Connecticut-based company, has spent $172,000 lobbying for the plants, with plans to build one in Carlsbad and another in Huntington Beach. The Carlsbad plant, for instance, would boost San Diego's water supply by 10%.

However, the effort to replenish the water supplies has not gone unchallenged. In the case of the Carlsbad plant, environmental groups – San Diego CoastKeepers and Surfrider Foundation – filed a lawsuit demanding further assessment of environmental impacts on the region. According to these groups, the assessment put forth by the City of Carlsbad fails to consider the carbon footprint generated by the plant. “Last year’s historic Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32),” they argue, “coupled with recent litigation brought by the California Attorney General, have signaled that agencies must consider, discuss, and mitigate global warming impacts in their environmental review documents.” The original review considers no such impacts.

In addition to the carbon footprint challenge, the discussion has turned on other impacts on the local environment, including marine life and a nearby lagoon. In the two years since the initial City review, the California Coastal Commission determined that the desalination plant will impact the equivalent of at least 37 acres of sensitive lagoon habitat. In response to this assessment, state regulators are requiring Poseidon to mitigate that damage by restoring 37 acres of wetlands. The company estimates it would cost $10 million wherever it decides to repair damaged habitat and build a functioning ecosystem. Poseidon has vouched to meet the requirement, but CoastKeepers and Surferiders object by arguing that a specific site of restoration must be selected before construction of the plant begins.