Controversy Follows California's Massive Desalination Plant Proposal

The Poseidon Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Plant, proposed for the Pacific coast in Huntington Beach, will face a critical vote by the California Coastal Commission (CCC) in May.

The controversial desalination project has been in the works for more than two decades, sparking controversy between two competing versions of sustainability.

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Ian James summarizes the controversy:

The long-running fight over the proposal encompasses contentious issues such as the effects on marine life, power requirements and whether the low-lying site is vulnerable to sea-level rise, as well as the company’s heavy political lobbying for the lucrative project.

And:

At the heart of the debate, there are fundamental arguments about whether Orange County really needs the water, how the area should adapt to worsening droughts with climate change, and whether the costs would be a reasonable investment to secure reliable water or an exorbitant megaproject that would mean higher water rates for decades to come.

Leading the opposition, according to James, is a coalition of environmental groups called Stop Poseidon. California Coastkeeper Alliance, California Coastal Protection Network, Orange County Coastkeeper, and the Surfrider Foundation, comprise the coalition, along with others.

The feature-length article provides a lot more detail about the debate ahead of next month’s historic vote by the CCC.

Planetizen coverage of Poseidon Water:

• Opinion: California Should Invest In Housing, Not Dubious Desalination Projects (January 2022)
• Environmentalists Object to California Desalination Plan (March 2021)
• Desalination Projects Get a Big Boost in California (January 2018)
• What Happened to all those Desalination Plants Proposed for California? (November 2016)