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State commission starts desal project review
By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer
Hundreds turn out for hearing on proposed Carlsbad plant | ∞
SAN DIEGO -- Roughly 250 people packed into a state hearing Tuesday, many of them arguing that a proposed desalination project in Carlsbad could help protect this drought-stricken region as it confronts a dwindling water supply.
The proposed plant could give the area a guaranteed source of local drinking water and provide a little security for a region that now depends on the distant Colorado River for nearly all of its water, said proponents, who included area water district officials, chamber of commerce leaders and farmers.
"I believe the water crisis is the most critical issue facing this region, this state," said Carlsbad Mayor Bud Lewis, who was accompanied by three of the city's four council members at Tuesday's State Lands Commission hearing.
Opponents of the desalination project, including local coastal preservationists and surfers, said they don't oppose the idea of producing drinking water out of seawater, but they don't think the design of this plant is best way to do it.
"Here we are with the first one (of what may be many such plants) and it's one of the worst ones," said Marco Gonzalez, an environmental lawyer who is active in the local Surfrider Foundation.
The Encina intake
Poseidon Resources Inc. wants to build the plant within the Encina Power Station site on the south side of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It is proposed to produce 50 million gallons of drinking water a day from seawater. The salty water would come from an ocean intake pipe that's already used by the power plant to cool its equipment.
Carlsbad officials, residents and business people have been debating the project's merits for several years. Tuesday's hearing was convened by the State Lands Commission, an agency that controls the tidal and near-shore regions of California.
The state panel has permit authority over part of the project because the proposed intake pipe runs across state tidal land. Commissioners said Tuesday they wanted to make certain the state didn't sue over the plans, and they added that they hoped developer Poseidon Resources Inc. would have more information when the commission returns for a vote in December.
In particular, commission Chairman John Garamendi, who also is the state's lieutenant governor, said Poseidon needs to figure out how it will reduce the carbon dioxide generated by the plant.
"If you haven't figured (it) out, I suggest you get on it quickly," Garamendi said to the company's representatives.
Get right on it
Peter MacLaggan of Poseidon Resources said the company would do its best, noting that its proposal to be "carbon-neutral" is something that's pretty new -- both for Poseidon and for the industry.
The proposal calls for the plant to make up for the carbon dioxide it produces by doing everything from using environmentally friendly building construction techniques to improving wetlands habitat.
One recent hurdle that's still being worked out is what happens if the power plant stops using its ocean intake, officials said. Encina's owners have submitted plans to the state to gradually replace its aging power-generating equipment with generators that are air-cooled rather than seawater-cooled.
Gonzalez, the environmental attorney, focused on the pipe issue during his testimony. If the desalination plant will be the sole user of the pipe, then the commission needs to order Poseidon to do an additional environmental review, he argued.
Commissioners said they had questions themselves about what happens if the power station changes its cooling system. However, they didn't enthusiastically embrace Gonzalez's proposal.
"That one, we'll ponder," Garamendi said.
Time is precious
Proponents said the panel shouldn't waste the time. Many noted that the region is facing an extreme drought. Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, said farmers are facing a 30 percent cutback in the agricultural water program come Jan. 1, and urged the commission to support the plant to prevent future water shortages.
Others said last week's massive wildfires were reason enough to have a local water supply close at hand -- San Diego County now gets most of its water from the Colorado River, which provides much water to thirsty Southern California and is in its eighth year of drought.
To the north, drought and endangered fish have meant reduced deliveries from the other main supply, the State Water Project. The project includes a 600-mile network of dams, reservoirs and pipelines that convey snowmelt and rainfall from the north part of the state to the south.
"Delaying the future of this project is not in the community's best interest, said Mitch Dion, general manager of the Rincon del Diablo Water District.
Dion added that his board president couldn't attend --- his house burned down in the Witch Creek fire.
Even with the commission's backing next month, the project still has a least one big hurdle to overcome -- it needs a permit from the state Coastal Commission. That panel is expected to review the issue in November.
Another hurdle appears to mostly be overcome -- the plant's developers report that they now have contracts to sell the water the facility would produce. The city of Carlsbad is one key buyer and Oceanside's City Council is slated to consider a purchase deal next month. The company also has worked out agreements with a variety of smaller water districts in the region.
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dave from oceanside wrote on Oct 31, 2007 6:54 AM:This is a project we are in dire need of, and it will allow North County to prosper. No city can expect to survive long without water, people need it and so does business. Without a dependable and unencumbered source of water this area will literally dry up and crumble away. Sounds extreme doesn't it, but the reality of the population explosion on the west coast will soon suck the well dry. Hopefully this desalination plant will be everything it is touted to be. However it will probably be a learning experience which will require intelligent leadership, not political bantering, to see to it this project transforms itself into what this area needs. Gonzalez concerns about the intake pipe are just simple maintenance issues, and carbon dioxide scrubber technology has been around for years. If Gonzalez knows of a better technology for desalination speak up and enlighten us or get out of the way.
Time for Desal is here wrote on Oct 31, 2007 7:03 AM:The Posiedon Desal plant is necessary, along with the San Onofre proposal for desal. San Onofre would use Reactor 4 to produce power and a small part of that power would be used to desalinate seawater... "Toilet-To-Tap" doesn't bother him but removing impurities from ocean water does ?
Ray wrote on Oct 31, 2007 12:56 PM:Desal is definatly part of the future, but we shoud use to best technology to insure our water supplies. Using fifty year old technology like ocean intakes causes so much environmental damage to the ocean that even the power company is moving to new cooling methods. We should be looking at beach wells and other water sources. One way or another the ocean intake pipes will be phased out and then our water supply will be in jepordy again. How about getting it right the first time for once! Also, what farmer is going to use $1200/AF water. Any supposed agricultural need for this water is just a scam.
anotherview wrote on Oct 31, 2007 1:09 PM:Statewide, farmers overuse and waste water. Farming activity now consumes about 80 percent of the available state water supply. Households use about 5 percent. The rest goes to government, industrial, and commercial. Simple math shows that forcing farmers statewide to lower their water use by only 6.25 percent would equal the same amount of water as households use. Further, about 30 percent of farm irrigation water goes to waste in runoff from the land. Via political pressure, farmers resist (1) improving their farm irrigation practices and (2) recycling farm water runoff. The Golden State has plenty of water available, but the distribution and use of this water does not happen rationally. Farmers grab most of the water, and then waste nearly a third of it. So any fair and sound solution to the water supply problem must require farmers statewide to stop using and wasting so much water. Then others will have enough water.
Mike wrote on Oct 31, 2007 4:02 PM:As long as we continue to build and over populate the state we will have to have alternate sources for water. How can anyone in their right mind look out at the Pacific Ocean and say we have no water. We have the source we have the technology, we need to build it. We need the water.
Resident wrote on Oct 31, 2007 4:05 PM:This plant is all about the Carlsbad City Council playing to their builder/developer sponsors. With new water sources, we can build thousands of new houses in Carlsbad.
DamDr. wrote on Oct 31, 2007 4:46 PM:Mr. Anotherview: Your stats for the State (if they're correct) don't reflect the water use in San Diego though. Data for 2005 and projections for demand in year 2010 (similar trends) for the San Diego County Water Authority are: C&I = 226,000 acre feet/yr (Commercial and Industrial), Res = 402,000 acre feet/yr (Residential single and multi-family), and AG = 105,00 acre feet/yr (AG is agricultural, which includes farmers paying full price for water and no cut backs, and those who are on a special low cost rate and are forced to cut). Therefore, farming in SD County uses about 14%, not 80% as you mentioned for the State. Quite a difference. At least with the sorely needed Desal Plant we'll have enough salt to last us a thousand years! :)
been there wrote on Oct 31, 2007 5:46 PM:We must be water drunk. Without serious conservation we'll just let every money hungry corporation come and sell us more snake oil. We don't need lush lawns , huge water heaters, long showers, etc, we just like them. Change your mind and we can change the world.
janet wrote on Oct 31, 2007 8:01 PM:Conservation. We live in a desert in a time of increasing drought. My neighbors water their huge lawns (1/4 to 1/2 acres) every day come rain or shine. Water is running down the street everywhere. We still think that in a desert we can put in water hog landscaping. Put some teeth in restrictions. Raise the rates for heavy users. Fine those who won't fix their irrigation systems. Why am I paying for their selfish ways?
Tami wrote on Nov 1, 2007 9:38 AM:We're in this position today partly because of global warming pollution. Now we're proposing to solve it with a plant that will make more global warming pollution than any other water source we use?! "Carbon Neutral" offsets aren't effective. Generations to come will be facinated by our folly, if they aren't overcome by their hatred of us.
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