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It’s been nearly a year since the California Coastal Commission gave an Orange County water district the green light to build a new desalination plant in Dana Point. So I decided to check in to see how the project is coming along.
In not surprising news, the plant’s price tag has gotten a bit bigger while its timeline has gotten a bit longer. But the project is still advancing, and it’s serving as a model for water regulators as they develop a new set of guidelines aimed at making the ocean a bigger source of California drinking water going forward.
Here are 10 things to know about the Doheny desalination plant.
We’re No. 2: If it’s built, Doheny would be the second largest desalination plant in California, capable of producing 5 million gallons of water each day. There is potential to scale Doheny up down the line, to make as much as 15 million gallons a day. But the biggest plant, in Carlsbad, produces 50 million gallons each day.
Greetings, campers: The planned project would draw seawater through wells drilled offshore from oceanfront campsites at Doheny State Beach Campground in Dana Point. Pipelines would carry the water across E. Pacific Coast Highway, where a new plant would filter out the salt.
Who’s behind it: South Coast Water District in Laguna Beach is building the plant to help stabilize water supplies for some 35,000 south Orange County residents, who currently depend on pricey and frequently restricted imports from the Colorado River or the State Water Project. But to keep costs down for residents, the district only plans to use up to 2 million of the 5 million gallons of water the plant will churn out each day. That’s where partners come in.
Partners still needed: South Coast Water is in talks with neighboring water agencies that might be willing to help pay for the plant in exchange for a share of the water it will produce. They have no signed deals yet, but strong interest from the city of San Clemente, Laguna Beach Water District, Eastern Municipal Water District in Perris and Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.
First of its kind: The Doheny plant would be the first commercial-scale desalination project to use slant wells designed to collect ocean water from beneath the seafloor and pull it through sand. Supporters say it’s much less risky to sea life, which can be sucked in along with water that’s collected in traditional surface-level systems. Doubters call it an unproven system.
Price tag up: All in, the plant is now expected to cost $175 million to build. The water it produces is expected to initially go for $2,058 per acre foot, which is at least 30% more than imported water. But developers expect that dynamic to flip by 2032, as outside water faces more restrictions. If those figures hold, and if partners come through, South Coast Water customers would likely see their bills go up by a little over $4 a month.
Timeline extended: South Coast Water hopes to hire a company in the spring to design most of the project and give them a guaranteed final price. The district and any partners that have signed on would then vote in spring 2025 on whether to hire the company to finish the design and build the plant. With an expected three-year construction window, they’re now looking at late 2028 or early 2029 to start operations.
Power up: One of the biggest criticisms of desalination is that it requires lots of energy. The Doheny plant is slated to use 27,000 megawatt hours of power a year. (For context, a typical Orange County household uses 6 megawatt hours a year.) South Coast Water plans to use up to 5 acres of solar panels, which would provide 15% of the needed power. And it’s working on ways to offset more of the plant’s demand with renewable energy.
Hold the salt: Another major concern with desal is the concentrated saltwater brine that gets discharged back into the sea, which can harm marine life. To limit risks, South Coast Water plans to route its brine to an existing discharge system at South Orange County Wastewater Authority’s treatment plant. Those flows are discharged two miles offshore, 100 feet below surface water. That means no new outtake is needed for this project, while mixing effluent streams from the two plants will help both flows mix more quickly with ocean water.
Mitigation needed: Brine will come out of the plant fast enough to potentially kill some plankton and other marine life in the area, so the Coastal Commission is requiring the water district to study what lives there now. A Costa Mesa firm started that baseline monitoring work last month. South Coast water also will have to create or restore nearly 8 acres of marine or estuary habitat to offset its impacts. An exact site for that work hasn’t yet been identified, with wetland and marsh areas in Los Cerritos, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach under consideration. And the state wants to identify mitigation areas ahead of time that will work well for future desalination projects, so those plants can move forward more quickly down the line.
— By Brooke Staggs, environment reporter
SIMMER
Too hot to learn: “By the end of the day they all look like they are about to pass out.” With kids back in school as a heat wave hit Southern California, our Annika Bahnsen looked at air conditioning problems at one Orange County school and how others in the area are coping. …READ MORE…
- More background: Former colleague Roxana Kopetman and I touched on this issue in the spring when we wrote about what Southern California schools are doing, or not doing, to improve indoor air quality.
Bus stop woes: Most bus stops in Koreatown have no benches or shade, reports Jeong Park of the Los Angeles Times. With heat waves worsening while wait times for buses get worse, Park reports on how seniors in the area have fallen ill or given up favorite hobbies to avoid the long, hot waits. And while the city contracted with a private company to build shade structures, he says so far none have materialized. …READ MORE…
ENERGIZE
More gas coming to Aliso Canyon: Locals urged regulators to reject SoCalGas’ proposals to expand the underground natural gas storage field in Aliso Canyon that was the site of a 2015 gas leak. But regulators voted to support increases, citing concerns about energy reliability in the winter. Our Olga Grigoryants has the story. ..READ MORE…
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HYDRATE
Groundwater drying up: A New York Times investigation on depleted groundwater notes how, in parts of California, “so much water is being pumped up that it is causing roads to buckle, foundations to crack and fissures to open in the earth.” A graphic tracks the declines since 1940. …READ MORE…
TRANSPORT
Cart before the horse: LA Metro unveiled a plan to create a chain of paths, regional bikeways and pedestrian crossings to connect passengers to transit. But Steve Scauzillo reports it comes with a hefty price tag, no concrete funding sources and plenty of pushback. …READ MORE…
REGULATE
OC climate plan coming soon: Orange County Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley and Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento hosted a hearing on climate resiliency, aimed at helping the county develop a climate action plan. Our Destiny Torres reports the county is hiring a new deputy director of sustainability to oversee the effort, which should mean more parks, electric-powered fleet vehicles and buildings with lower carbon footprints going forward. …READ MORE…
PROTECT
Utility sued over wildfire: The Department of Justice is suing Southern California Edison and one of its contractors over the Bobcat fire, which burned over 100,000 acres in 2020. The federal government claims Edison’s contracted tree maintenance company did not prevent trees from coming into contact with power lines, which caused the massive blaze. Our Emily Holshouser has the story. …READ MORE…
Poachers prosecuted: Wildlife traffickers pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Los Angeles to illegally importing endangered sea cucumbers from Mexico. They could get up to 25 years in prison, the Associated Press reports. ...READ MORE…
EXPLORE
Bioluminescent waves return: The bright blue, glowing waves are back off Southern California’s coastline. Our Laylan Connelly has the details on what causes them and how to track them down — which, fair warning, can be easier said than done. But doesn’t that make the magical sight even more special for the determined or fortunate folks who experience it? …READ MORE…
PITCH IN
Clean the beach: For this week’s tip on how Southern Californians can help the environment… Have you ever participated in California Coastal Cleanup Day? This year’s statewide event is happening Sept. 23, and local cities and organizations are taking signups now for volunteers who want to participate. Long Beach, for example, is recruiting volunteers for five locations along its six miles of coastline. Heal the Bay also is promoting volunteer events across Southern California, including at some inland sites to keep debris from traveling down rivers and streams to the ocean. Check out a map of volunteer events here.
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Source: Orange County Register
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