Poseidon’s Huntington Beach desalination plant gaining support

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 16, 2009 at 8:12 am

From the O. C. Register:

“HUNTINGTON BEACH – Poseidon Resources has gained support from Orange County cities and water districts for its $350 million project that would convert seawater into drinking water to combat the drought plaguing the county.

Seal Beach City Council members on Monday voted to join a list of 14 other agencies that have signed a letter of intent to use water from the proposed desalination plant at the AES power plant on Newland Street near Pacific Coast Highway.

Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana and the Metropolitan Water District, among others, have said they are interested in buying water from Poseidon.

The project would generate about 50 million gallons of drinkable water every day by tapping in to the 275 million gallons already flowing in to the AES plant to cool its equipment, officials say. … “

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Shawn DeWane: Could seawater desalination come to Orange County?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 16, 2009 at 8:10 am

From the O. C. Register, this commentary by Shawn DeWane, board president at Mesa Consolidated Water District:

“Seawater desalination has been discussed as a potential large scale water source since the days of Aristotle. This technology has proven itself effective over the past 20 years in applications like naval and cruise ships and in areas of the world where fresh water is scarce like Australia, Algeria and other countries.

The cost of importing water into Southern California has risen dramatically and will continue to rise for years to come. Currently, seawater desalination is more expensive than imported water. But the application of new technologies has reduced the cost of desalination by more than half. The water industry is still waiting for the break-even point where desalinated water becomes less expensive than imported water. That time is approaching. More than a dozen desalination plants are scheduled to be operational along California’s coastline over the next decade, including at least two in Orange County.

Poseidon Resources, a private water infrastructure developer, has already broken ground in San Diego County on a 50-million-gallon-per-day (MGD) seawater desalination facility that is expected to be operational in about two years. That company has been working for the past 10 years to develop a similar desalination facility in Huntington Beach to service Orange County. Poseidon’s Huntington Beach project has every local permit approval and is now focused on securing the remaining state permits needed to start construction.

I have heard many of the project’s detractors talk about Poseidon’s effort to build a desalination facility in Tampa Bay. … “

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Commentary/rebuttal: Desalination: separating fact from fiction

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 2, 2009 at 5:11 pm

From the Daily Pilot, this commentary by Scott Maloni, vice president of Poseidon Resources in response to this commentary by Garry Brown of the OC Coastkeeper:

“In the short period that I have come to know OC Coastkeeper Executive Director Garry Brown, I have found him to be a passionate and pragmatic advocate for the coastal environment. While we don’t agree on seawater desalination and our Huntington Beach project, his arguments mostly have been factual, and he has handled himself professionally and respectfully. Unfortunately, in his recent opinion piece, “Desalination plant will cost more than GWRS” (Sounding Off, Nov. 29), Brown has resorted to disseminating misinformation about Poseidon and the project.

Brown’s comparison between the cost of seawater desalination and the Ground Water Replenishment System (GWRS) is disingenuous. The H.B. desalination plant is being built to offset Orange County’s demand for more expensive and less reliable imported water, not to replace or compete with GWRS. There is no single, “silver bullet” water supply solution, which is why local water managers who are advocates of GWRS are also supporting seawater desalination. In addition, the cost of producing water at the H.B. plant is $1,100 an acre foot, not the “$2,000 to $3,000” he asserts. … “

December 2, 2009 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Commentary: Desalination plant will cost more than GWRS

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 29, 2009 at 7:16 am

From the Daily Pilot, this commentary by Garry Brown, executive director of Orange County Coastkeeper:

“As we try to understand the water crisis gripping California, we must understand that not all of the proposed solutions to our water crisis are created equal. Some solutions such as conservation are inexpensive, most applications are somewhat costly, and then there is one that is outrageously expensive: ocean desalination.

Many people believe that ocean desalination is the ultimate solution to our water problems. I support desalination on a case-by-case basis, in certain locations, and with the right technology. In reality, desalination is not yet ready for California. Basically, with the 50-year-old technology that Poseidon is proposing, we are in effect trading electricity for water. It is the most expensive solution to our water crisis compared to any of the other solutions discussed.

Let’s compare a new state-of-the-art water recycling solution called the Ground Water Replenishment System (GWRS) operating in Orange County to the Poseidon desalination project proposed in Carlsbad or Huntington Beach. … “

November 29, 2009 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Poseidon urged to try new treatments in proposed Huntington Beach desal plant

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 5, 2009 at 12:31 pm

From the Huntington Beach Independent:

“The lieutenant governor of California has urged Poseidon Resources, the company that plans to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, to seek more environmentally friendly ways of creating drinkable water.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, in a letter July 15, told Poseidon Chairman and Chief Executive James M. Donnell that he would oppose any new desalination plants that use ocean water until all options for treating wastewater had been tested and rejected.

Using wastewater would use less electricity and have a much smaller environmental impact than using ocean water, he said. …”

Read more from the Huntington Beach Independent by clicking here.

November 5, 2009 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Carlsbad City Council backs proposed Poseidon desal plant project changes, but will likely face lawsuits

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 17, 2009 at 7:54 am

From the North County Times:

“A proposal to change the design of a long-planned desalination project and its accompanying pipelines won unanimous approval from the Carlsbad City Council on Tuesday, but may soon face a lawsuit.

Environmental attorney Marco Gonzalez told the council during Tuesday’s meeting that two coastal protection groups he represents —- San Diego Coastkeeper and Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation —- will likely file suit.

Gonzalez argued that the new pipeline routes, among other things, constitute substantial changes to the original plans and should be the subject of a supplemental environmental document.

Chris Garrett, an attorney who represents project developer Poseidon Resources Corp., disagreed with that characterization. He urged the council to proceed with its approval, arguing that the project’s opponents were simply raising “the same arguments that we’ve heard over and over.” …”

Read more from the North County Times by clicking here. Coverage from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.

September 17, 2009 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Poseidon Resources’ proposed Huntington Beach ocean desalination facility dealt new setbacks

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 26, 2009 at 6:02 am

From Residents 4 Responsible Desalination & Surfrider, this press release:

“Poseidon Resources proposal to construct an ocean desalination facility in Huntington Beach has just run into new potential obstacles.

In a letter dated July 15th, 2009, to Poseidon Resources, Lt. Governor John Garamendi, who sits on the State Lands Commission and Ocean Protection Council, expressed concerns and opposition to ocean desalination. (Letter attached)

“I will oppose new desalination plants that use ocean water until all options for treating wastewater are explored….” Garamendi’s letter states. The Lt. Governor expressed concerns about the huge amount of electricity used in the ocean desalination process and the associated impacts on global warming, as well as the adverse impacts on marine life from the facility’s ocean intake. Garamendi also praised the efforts of the Ground Water Replenishment System in Orange County, saying that “it demonstrates what can be done” to conserve water resources before investing in costly unproven technologies.

Local groups applauded Garamendi’s letter.

“Mr. Garamendi has put in writing what we have been saying all along – there are water supply alternatives that are cheaper for ratepayers and benefit the environment — as opposed to the destruction caused by poorly designed ocean desalination,” said Merle Moshiri, President of Residents for Responsible Desalination (R4RD. “Poseidon will hopefully listen to Mr. Garamendi even if they have ignored our pleas.” …”

August 26, 2009 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Countywide poll uncovers widespread concern over Orange County’s water supply; 70% of county voters support seawater desalination

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 2, 2008 at 5:52 am

From Market Watch:

Today the Orange County Business Council and the Los Angeles/Orange County Building Trades Council released the results of a jointly sponsored public opinion survey measuring Orange County residents’ attitudes toward the county’s water supply. The poll of registered voters uncovered widespread concern about water reliability and revealed broad support for tapping the Pacific Ocean as one way to address the county and region’s water shortages.

The countywide telephone survey conducted the week of September 22nd demonstrated the public is attune to Orange County’s water supply crisis as county officials scramble to prepare for additional cuts to the county’s imported water supply (Click here to view the Memorandum: http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200810/471678_OCBC-OCBTCWATERPOLLMEMO.doc).

Some of the key findings from the survey include:

– 87% of respondents believe that Orange County needs new sources of
fresh water.
– 72% of respondents believe that seawater desalination is a good idea.
– 71% believe that local water agencies should add desalinated seawater
to their overall water portfolio.
– 61% said would pay a few dollars more on their monthly water bill for
high quality desalinated water that is drought-proof and reliable.

“Orange County residents overwhelmingly support innovative solutions to improve water reliability,” said Lucy Dunn, President of the Orange County Business Council. “The state has already approved one seawater desalination plant for San Diego County; now Orange County must also ensure a local, drought-proof water supply for our residents and businesses. We urge state and local officials to move quickly and approve the proposed Desalination Facility in Huntington Beach,” she said.

Read the rest of this story from Market Watch by clicking here.

October 2, 2008 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Poseidon leaves many questions unanswered regarding proposed Huntington Beach plant

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 7, 2008 at 6:07 am

From the O.C. Voice:

An environmental scientist for the California Coastal Commission says that the cost of water to be produced by a desalination plant approved by the city of Huntington Beach has been greatly underestimated by the developer and that proposed mitigation measures for its impact on ocean marine life are inadequate.

The project was approved by the H.B. City Council (including current councilmembers Don Hansen, Keith Bohr, Cathy Green and Gil Coerper) in Feb. 2006.

The remarks were part of a letter to Poseidon Resources Inc., the multi-national corporate water corporation that will oversee construction of the plant that would suck in 100 million gallons of ocean water every day and convert it into 50 million gallons of drinking water. Poseidon plans to co-locate with the AES power generating plant on Newland Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway to take cost-saving advantage of the plant’s “once-through cooling” system to gather the ocean water it needs for conversion.

Once-through cooling systems are also used by 20 other antiquated power plants along the California coast and suck in 17 billion gallons of seawater each year, killing virtually all the marine organisms passing through their membranes, a significant contributor to the 60 percent decline in marine species, according to a 2005 report by the California Energy Commission.

A recent court ruling, as well as legislative trends and a resolution by the California State Lands Commission, are bringing once-through cooling to a close, sooner or later. “It’s the end of once-through cooling systems in the U.S.”, Surfrider Foundation desalination expert Joe Geever told the Voice in September, adding, “AES is fighting the changes tooth and nail.”

One of the main questions left inadequately answered is how much the water will actually cost. Poseidon has said the desalinated water would cost $800 per acre-foot, but this is based on unrealistic power costs and subsidies that may never materialize, critics say. They believe the water could end up costing as much as $1400 to $1500 per acre-foot.

Read the full text of this post on the O.C. Voice blog by clicking here.

May 7, 2008 · Filed Under Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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Huntington Beach Desalination facility teams up with Poseidon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 8, 2007 at 7:50 pm

Poseidon Resources announced its development team for the proposed Huntington Beach desalination facility. Three companies will be partnering with Poseidon to develop the $250 million facility, which would have the ability to supply 50 million gallons of drinking water each day, which amounts to about 7% of water used in the county.

From the Huntington Beach Independent:

The plant still has several major hurdles, however. A recent federal court ruling put into question the legal status of the AES power plant it will use for water and cooling. And it must still get permits from the California State Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission.

Despite those obstacles, Poseidon Resources thinks the plant’s chances are good, company spokeswoman Brenda Anaya said. “We’re very optimistic as far as the current political climate in California,” Anaya said. “With the current drought we’re experiencing, global warming, little by little the public is going to demand from the government an alternative source of water.”

The Aqua Blog Maven has added emphasis above, and would like to point out that the desalination facility would use enormous amounts of electricity, and would therefore *contribute* to global warming, not alleviate it.

Much has been in the news on desalination in Southern California. To read more articles, check out the desalination category to the right of this post.

June 8, 2007 · Filed Under Desalination, Poseidon's Huntington Beach

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