Posted on 02/28/2006 2:01:51 PM PST by BurbankKarl
A controversial proposal to build what would be the largest desalination plant in the nation along the Huntington Beach coastline was approved early today after months of raucous debate.
The Huntington Beach City Council voted 4 to 3 to approve permits for Poseidon Resources Corp. to build a $250-million desalination facility next to the AES power station on Pacific Coast Highway at the city's southern edge.
The desalination plant would produce as much as 50 million gallons of fresh water daily by tapping ocean water already pumped into the power station to cool the huge electrical facility.
The plant still must receive approvals from several state agencies, including the California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission.
Most of the water would be sold to as yet unknown buyers, though Huntington Beach agreed to buy a modest amount — 3.2 million gallon a day — at a rate less than what it now pays for imported water from the Metropolitan Water District. About a third of the city's water is imported; the rest comes from groundwater.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Sounds good, whats the fuss.
Say what you will about the merits of de-salinating sea water, but that statement is just plain ludicrous.
I'm not rich & I'm not a liberal and I live in HB, but I don't see why we need to put a water plant right on our beach. We're really not in that dire need of water, and expensive water at that.
It's in a flat area just South of Beach Boulevard. There's a boat storage site and some wetlands, I believe.
This desalination plant is a good move. While they're at it, they should build a nuclear plant next to it.
What do you do with all the salt? There are any number of good answers (from pumping it back into the ocean to spreading it on icy upper-midwest roads), but the question does need an answer.
Sounds good, whats the fuss.
I’m not making this up.
The enviro wackos in Australia recently stopped the building of a desalination plant there.
One of the major reasons for blocking it was that it would lessen the water shortage in the area. They felt that an abundance of water would lead to increased water usage.
So the water shortage will continue, so that the water shortage can continue.
The fuss is that in many places the no growthers have used the scarcity of water to justify their wanting growth stopped. If there's plenty of water the rationale goes away and there's no quick replacement. By and large, if you scratch deep enough, it rich white liberals near the coast trying to enhance their property values by artificial scarcity.
I hope they have better luck than we had here in Tampa Bay. Our desal plant turned out to be a disaster.
This is a move for the future, just like saving money instead of spending it. The Colorado River project is the main source of water for a lot of Southern California. Depending on one source just isn't wise; it works, but how long will it work and what happens when it doesn't work?
That's why they're building this plant.
Unbelievably stupid.
I'd bet those opposed have no qualms about using the wind or water in rivers to generate electricity.
"why we need"...Ain't heard bout the NEW DAM on the Colorado,heh? LOL
With that logic, I guess we could also do away with marinas and ocean going cruise and container ships.
I just saw this in the article and what an understatement!
Linking desalinization to nuclear power plant has always seemed the logical way to go.
Then you have not heard of plans to blow up a dam on the Columbia River in Washington, or Sen. Kennedy's request to get rid of all those unsightly windmills.
It can only improve the quality of water in that area. We lived in Santa Ana 30 years ago ... the water was terrible. We, and most households, had bottled water on the premises used for drinking purposes, coffee making, etc., tap water was used for cooking and bathing.
But wouldn't you feel better paying 2-4 times market price, in order to say you've planned ahead?
Good idea.
The Colorado River project can only provide limited amounts of water to California.
Arizona, Nevada, old Mexico, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado also need water from The Colorado River project .
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