July 2, 2020
As Sierra Club members we have all become familiar with zombie development projects that never seem to die, and that we need to stop. One of the longest-running of these projects is the proposed Poseidon Huntington Beach desalination plant. This boondoggle has been in the works for twenty years, and the Sierra Club along with a large coalition of environmental and community groups has continually worked to stop this destructive project. But like most zombies, this project just keeps going and now we need your help to stop it for good. On July 31 the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board will hold an online hearing to decide whether to determine if it meets the requirements of the state desalination policy and give a waste discharge permit to Poseidon. This is our best chance to stop this project, but we need your help. Go to our campaign site and plan on participating in the July 31 hearing.
The Sierra Club has developed a comprehensive policy regarding desalination stating that Desalination should not be used for water supply needs that can be met by water conservation, water recycling, and other water use efficiency practices. Poseidon fails on every point. In fact, Poseidon would pollute our ocean, kill marine life, cost a fortune, and most importantly we don’t need it.
The lack of a need for the plant is clear. In 2018 Orange County produced a Water Reliability Study that says “… this region can even manage potential shortages that occur only about once every 20 years with conservation mandates alone.” And the environmental impacts of the project are significant. It would use intakes with screens that are only 1% effective in protecting marine life while sucking in over 100 million gallons a day of ocean water killing everything trapped by the desalination process.
The desalination process produces as much waste as it does water and would discharge 50 million gallons a day of toxic brine mixed with residual cleaning chemicals, creating a dead zone in the ocean off Huntington Beach. Poseidon would also use massive amounts of energy, generated by fossil fuels that contribute to climate change. And the high energy requirements to produce desalinated water make it very expensive. At $2,800 an acre-foot it is five times more expensive than groundwater and almost three times as expensive as recycled or imported water. Add on more price increases for projects like the California Delta tunnel and our water costs will skyrocket. This is particularly bad for underserved communities that are already facing multiple Environmental Justice issues
So how does this boondoggle keep going? Pure politics. Poseidon runs this project more like a political campaign than a development project. They have spent millions of dollars on political campaigns and lobbyists in an effort to force the project on Orange County. And they still do not have a customer. Through their political efforts, they got the Orange County Water District (OCWD) to support the project, but they have not agreed to buy Poseidon’s water. OCWDs official position is that they do not know how they would use or distribute the water.
This project is the first in the state to come under the full review of the statewide desalination policy and will set the precedent for desalination projects statewide. It is critical that the project meets the state guidelines for environmental protection. We need you to speak up now to protect our ocean, environment, and future. Contact Ray Hiemstra or Water Committee Chair Charming Evelyn for more information.
Ray Hiemstra is the Chair of the Sierra Club Orange County Conservation Committee.
[Photo: Speak out at the Huntington Beach Desalination Plant Hearing © OC Coastkeeper all rights reserved]