Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/poseidon-water/)
The Santa Ana Regional Quality Control Board is meeting this morning to hold a public hearing on Poseidon Water’s request for a permit renewal for their facility, which would be built on 12 acres of a power plant and produce 50 million gallons of water per day, according to water district staff.
Kelley Gage, Director of Water Resources for the San Diego County Water Authority writes that seawater desalination is a tool for coastal communities to consider, and that each community needs to devise its own supply reliability portfolios to determine whether desalination makes sense. SDCWA doesn’t have a policy position or a financial stake in the proposed desalination plant in Huntington Beach but wants to make certain the facts at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant are accurate.
On July 18, Orange County Water Board will vote on new terms for the Poseidon desalination project. Orange County Coastkeeper’s Garry Brown and tourism/marketing leader Steve Bone argue that Poseidon is a bad deal for consumers and businesses, who would be hit especially hard by water rate increases.
Paul Cook, General Manager at Irvine Ranch Water District, argues that seawater desalination is not the right answer for Orange County noting there are better water solutions for the region.
Academics, advocates and activists met for a panel discussion at UC Irvine to hash out the pros and cons of a proposal to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, with environmentalists once again warning it would damage marine environments and raise water bills.