[thackney]

Nation's largest ocean desalination plant goes up near San Diego; Future of the California coast?
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25859513/nations-largest-ocean-desalination-plant-goes-up-near
05/29/2014

The crews are building what boosters say represents California's best hope for a drought-proof water supply: the largest ocean desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere. The $1 billion project will provide 50 million gallons of drinking water a day for San Diego County when it opens in 2016.

Fifteen desalination projects are proposed along the coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco Bay.

To critics, the plant is a costly mistake that will use huge amounts of energy and harm fish and other marine life when it sucks in seawater using the intakes from the aging Encina Power Plant next door.

"This is going to be the pig that will try for years to find the right shade of lipstick," said Marco Gonzalez, an Encinitas attorney who sued on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation and other environmental groups to try to stop construction. "This project will show that the water is just too expensive."

For the plant to be a success and copied in other parts of the state, Poseidon will have to deliver high-quality drinking water at the price promised -- and not cause unexpected impacts to the environment such as fish die-offs.

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My guess is will only continue to operate with tax subsidies.

[thackney]

[GeronL]

They need water from somewhere. I hear the water prices are already quite high.

[morphing libertarian]

The Carlsbad plant took 12 years to turn the shovel. The environmentalists fought it administratively, locally and with the coastal commission. After they lost everywhere else, they took the project to court to re-fight the same battle.

Most companies and cities would have given up. Kudos to the company and Carlsbad for outfighting and outlasting people who don’t give a damn about human habitation.