Kenneth Ma
HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A Connecticut firm wants to build a desalinization
plant off of Pacific Coast Highway to give the city an alternative water
supply that would be reliable during droughts and natural disasters.
"If this project were built, it would be drought-proof because [the
company] can produce [drinking] water whether there is rain or not," said
Virginia Grebbien, a senior vice president of Poseidon Resources Industry
in Stamford, Conn.
The project, which is still in the conceptual stages, would involve
building a 10-acre desalinization plant behind the AES Power Plant on
Pacific Coast Highway that could produce 40 million gallons of water per
day. The proposed site sits on property that is owned by Southern
California Edison.
In February, Poseidon and the Municipal Water District of Orange
County reached an agreement for the company to submit a formal project
proposal in December. Poseidon is hoping to sell its water to the county
agency, Grebbien said.
She said the company intends to strike a deal to sell its water to the
water district before applying for a coastal development permit from the
city.
Poseidon officials have informally talked with some City Council
members about its plan. If all goes well, construction of the
$100-million plant could begin as soon as 2003, she said.
The desalinization plant's water would be available to both Huntington
Beach and residents throughout the county.
Huntington Beach gets 75% of its water from an underground aquifer
that stretches from south Orange County to the Los Angeles County border.
The aquifer is managed by the Orange County Water District, which charges
the city a user fee of $150 per 326,000 gallons of water. The remaining
25% is bought from the municipal water district, which brokers imported
water from the Colorado River and the Sacramento River delta. Imported
water costs $436 per 326,000 gallons.
Keith Coolidge, an associate general manager at the municipal water
district, said Poseidon's proposal will address such issues as the
water's price, and where and when the water would be needed.Grebbien said
she doesn't know if the price of desalinated water would affect
Huntington Beach residents.
The site near the AES Power Plant was selected because of the
availability of warm water, she said. The AES plant maintains a large
intake and outflow pipe that sucks in water from the ocean for cooling
purposes during its operations. During the process, the water is heated
and discharged back into the sea.
