Poseidon Water’s controversial proposal for a Huntington Beach desalination plant might cost water customers more than previously thought, a factor that could create a new obstacle to construction of the $1.4 billion project.
Word that the principal customer for the water, the Orange County Water District, was reexamining costs came from district General Manager Mike Markus on Thursday, March 31, at an OC Forum panel discussion on solutions to water shortages.
It’s one of several recent signs of emerging challenges for Poseidon, which needs a permit from the state Coastal Commission before it can negotiate a final contract with the water district and build a plant to turn ocean water into tap water.
Four years ago, when the O.C. Water District approved a non-binding memorandum of contract terms to buy desalted water from Poseidon, the district envisioned piping that water directly to its member agencies.
However, subsequent complications — including the refusal of any of those member agencies to immediately commit to buying the water — led the district to shift toward pumping Poseidon’s water into its groundwater aquifer rather than pipe it directly to water retailers. The member agencies would then extract the desalted water with wells that now draw from existing groundwater sources.
“Right now, it looks like we can’t serve it directly, so we’d have to put it in the groundwater, which increases the costs significantly,” Markus said at the OC Forum luncheon presentation, adding that the district was studying those cost increases.
Asked by the moderator if the district supported the project, Markus said, “We don’t know yet.”
Even if piped directly to the district’s member agencies, the desalted water would cost more than imported or local groundwater. That, along with a 2018 study that found the district would be forced to buy far more water than ever needed, have helped fuel opposition to the plant.
Additionally, the plan to pump the desalted water into the aquifer could force all 29 member agencies to help shoulder the increased costs. That prompted one of those agencies, the Irvine Ranch Water District, to vote unanimously Monday to oppose the Poseidon plant.
Poseidon had been scheduled for a March 17 Coastal Commission hearing on the final regulatory permit needed, but in late February the company abruptly asked the commission to postpone the meeting.
In make the request, Senior Vice President Sachin Chawla said the delay was “so that we can work with the (commission) staff on addressing any questions on mitigation measures and any other issues that may still be unresolved.”
While it granted the request, commission staff noted that its recommendation and report were complete and ready to be heard by commissioners. As a result, the delay request likely signaled that Poseidon foresaw an uphill battle in winning commission approval. A new hearing has not yet been scheduled.
There are outstanding environmental concerns, but the questionable need for the more costly water has also been a key issue for opponents. While droughts can reduce the availability of water imported from northern California and the Colorado River, the Orange County Water District — which serves the north and central parts of the county — has a large groundwater basin.
The district has made the most of that aquifer, fortifying rainwater with storm runoff, Santa Ana River water, and the nation’s largest wastewater-to-groundwater system. As a result, the agency imports a modest 23% of its water supply.
Poseidon would produce 50 million gallons a day, enough for about 400,000 people. But the company has said it will need a contract to sell all of that water to make the project viable.
The Municipal Water District of Orange County, in its 2018 study, found that during a worst-case crisis, less than half the Poseidon water would be needed — and none might ever be needed.
“It’s a solution looking for a problem,” said Paul Cook, general manager of the Irvine Ranch Water District, at the OC Forum event.
Source: Orange County Register
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