Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/poseidon-water/)
Some say the project could fund the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, weighed against the plant’s expected ecosystem damage. Others say Bolsa Chica doesn’t need Poseidon’s help.
The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Agency board directors anticipate returning to the issue on Sept. 17.
State and local officials agree that Kris Murray’s upcoming vote for a desalination project pushed by groups she took money from is legal.
If the permit is approved, Poseidon Water, the company proposing the desal plant, would clear a major hurdle after two-decades of pushing it near the final stretch.
A series of public hearings on a controversial desalination project are set to take place over two days.
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.