Biggest ocean desalination plant in California nears completion



Reverse osmosis filters are seen as construction continues on the
Western Hemisphere's largest seawater desalination plant in Carlsbad, California.

The Economic Times - April 15, 2015

California's 3-year-old drought has thrust seawater desalination into the spotlight as San Diego County, Santa Barbara and other cities push ahead with treatment plants that will soon turn the Pacific Ocean into a source of drinking water.

Desalination has emerged as a newly promising technology in California in the face of a record dry spell that has forced tough new conservation measures, depleted reservoirs and raised the costs of importing fresh water from elsewhere.

Project worth $1 billion

The biggest ocean desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, a $1 billion project under construction since 2012 on a coastal lagoon in the California city of Carlsbad, is nearly completed.
The plant is due to open in November, delivering up to 50 million gallons of water a day to San Diego County.

This is enough to supply roughly 112,000 households, or about 10 per cent of the county's drinking water needs, according to Poseidon Resources, the Connecticut-based company behind the facility.

Poseidon has a second seawater desalting project of similar size

Poseidon has a second seawater desalting project of similar size under development in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles, and is seeking a final permit to begin construction next year.

Expensive

Experts warn that converting seawater to drinking supplies remains an expensive, energy-intensive enterprise that has had mixed success in places like Australia and Florida.

Another 15 to 17 seawater desalting plants are in the design or planning phase around the state.

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