[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Item for 10/31/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

October 31, 2007

 

1.  Top Item

 

State commission starts desal project review; Hundreds turn out for hearing on proposed Carlsbad plant

North County Times – 10/30/07

By Barbara Henry, staff writer

 

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. #

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/10/31/news/coastal/2_00_1010_30_07.txt

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