Orange County water study updated, Poseidon desalination plant still scores lowĪmong other projects for south county is Santa Margarita Water District’s partnership with the private Cadiz Water Project, which could result in water being piped from groundwater supplies in the Mojave Desert to Orange County.

Poseidon wins key permit for desalination plant in Huntington Beach.

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Irvine Ranch, meanwhile, has invested in a project in Kern County to store water there that could be used in Orange County on an emergency basis. Shintaku is also talking to the Irvine Ranch Water District, which has more access to groundwater, about a collaboration to access some of that district’s water. “Partnerships will be key,” Shintaku said.

The project, originally envisioned as serving several water districts in south county, would benefit from the economy of a larger scale, but potential partners are waiting to see how the endeavor develops before committing. Shintaku said his district is exploring energy alternatives for running the plant, performing additional cost analysis and looking at a scaled-down version - but he hopes to have all necessary permits by next spring. That project has been endorsed by some of the same environmentalists opposing the Poseidon proposal, with those advocates pointing to the Doheny plan’s more environmentally sensitive technology and smaller size, as well as that area’s great potential need. “If we were severed from that supply - to cut residential and business supply by 90% - that’s too much,” said Rick Shintaku, general manager of the South Coast Water District.Īmong alternative sources being pursued by Shintaku’s district is a desalination plant that would be located near Doheny State Beach. The difference between the two regions is stark for water officials, given the south’s near-total dependence on imports.

Additionally, north and central county would be beneficiaries of the controversial Poseidon Water desalination proposal for Huntington Beach, should that long-developing project come to fruition. That system, which purifies wastewater and pumps it into the aquifer, supplies another 25% of the region’s needs, with an expansion underway to increase that share. They also have a huge groundwater aquifer to store and distribute water, and they have an innovative groundwater replenishment system to top off the aquifer. That’s because, unlike districts to the south, north and central county have access Santa Ana River water. While most of south Orange County relies on imports for 90% or more of its water, the north and central parts of the county import only about 25% of their water. Additionally, the growing stock of recycled wastewater, typically used for irrigation, is easing the pressures of demand. It says it can handle the drought with no water-use restrictions on imported water at least through 2021.Īlso helping the current outlook is a dramatic reduction in per capita water consumption, thanks to campaigns and incentives for low-flow showerheads and toilets as well as for drought-proof landscaping. Metropolitan reports that it has roughly 13 times more water stored in reservoirs and aquifers than it had in the 1990s. “Southern California, because of its investments, is in much better shape than most of the rest of the state.” “The good news is that Metropolitan has more water storage than ever,” he said at the forum, hosted by the South Orange County Economic Coalition. His district receives imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and distributes it to local agencies in the county. “The bad news for California as a whole and the West overall is that we’re in a serious drought,” said Rob Hunter, general manager of the Municipal Water District of Orange County.

Santa margarita water district pictures