Seawater Desalination and the California Coastal Act

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Seawater Desalination and the California
Coastal Act

• Tom Luster
• California Coastal Commission
• 45 Fremont Street, 2000
• San Francisco, CA 94105
• 415-904-5248 / tluster_at_coastal.ca.gov

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What Ill Cover

• Recent background of coastal desalination in
  California and the Monterey area.
• Key Coastal Act issues and desired results of
  review.
• Recommendations.
• Helpful resources and contacts.

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Water Issues In California

• Complex
• Controversial
• Contentious
• Connections between water and everything else
  environment, growth, quality of life, etc.
• Desal is no different.

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Seawater Desalination Facilities in California

• Existing
• About a dozen small facilities along coast.
• Total production about 3 mgd.
• Mostly emergency backup, industrial supplies,
  drought-relief.

• Proposed
• About twenty new facilities, including largest in
  U.S.
• Total production about 370 mgd.
• To provide baseline water supply.

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Proposed Desal Locationsand Production (in mgd)

• Cambria (0.5)
• Los Angeles (10-25)
• El Segundo (20)
• Long Beach (?)
• Huntington Beach (50)
• Dana Point (10-25)
• Carlsbad (50)

• Santa Cruz (2.5)
• Moss Landing Cal-Am (10-13)
• Moss Landing Pajaro- Sunny Mesa (20-25)
• Marina (2.7)

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Why Desal?

• Pros
• Not subject to drought.
• Local supply.
• Serves projected growth.
• Less costly than it used to be.
• Could reduce impacts elsewhere.

• Cons
• Not needed yet lots of water available through
  pricing, conservation, etc.
• Growth-inducing.
• Expensive compared with other sources.
• Energy intensive.

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Key Coastal Act Issues

• Allow growth compatible with sustaining coastal
  resources.
• Protect coastal biological resources.
• Allow coastal-dependent activities fishing,
  industry, coastal agriculture, recreation, etc.
• Ensure public access to the shoreline.
• Use the least environmentally harmful feasible
  alternative.
• Protect scenic and visual qualities of the coast.
• Overall, protect the publics coastal resources.

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Growth-Inducement

• Coastal Act generally allows development
• In or adjacent to existing development.
• In areas with adequate public services.
• Where it wont cause significant adverse impacts,
  individually or cumulatively.
• Desired results of review
• Ensure that growth related to the new water
  supply allows sustainability of coastal resources.

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Marine Biology/Water Quality

• Key Coastal Act policies
• Maintain, enhance, and where feasible, restore
  marine biology and water quality.
• Minimize effects of entrainment.
• Desal Intake
• Subsurface intake or other water source feasible?
• For proposed open-water intakes, need up-to-date
  entrainment/impingement study.
• Desal Discharge
• Evaluate reasonable worst-case conditions
  salinity, temperature, synergistic effects, etc.
• Feasible alternatives to reduce adverse effects?

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Co-locating Desal Power Plants

• Pros Shares existing structures, combined
  discharges may reduce adverse effects, source of
  electricity, etc.
• Cons Out-of-date and harmful designs and
  locations there may be feasible and better
  alternatives, may increase cooling water use,
  intake may be more costly to operate than
  subsurface, etc.
• Desired result of review Identify impacts of
  desal facility operating with and without power
  plant operating assess feasible alternatives.

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Public Access Issues

• Location on or near shoreline how would the
  facility or associated infrastructure affect
  access?
• Use of public beaches is a state park the right
  place for intakes and discharges?
• Security will new water production security
  requirements limit access?

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Public or Private Ownership

• Coastal Act based largely on coastal resources
  being public resources.
• Facilities may have different effects on the
  coast based on whether they are public or private
  e.g., access, growth, pressures on public
  services, etc.
• Recognized in Monterey County Local Coastal
  Program.

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Easier review looks like this
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More difficult review looks like this
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Desal Facility Design and Review
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For more information

• Coastal Commission Report
• Seawater Desalination and the California Coastal
  Act (2004) www. coastal.ca.gov

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Commission Review Times
Average non-Poseidon review time 6 months
Average Poseidon review time 30 months
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Facility Design and Review