Huntington Beach on Monday green-lighted a $350-million desalination plant with the capacity to produce 50 million gallons of fresh water a day.
The City Council gave Poseidon Resources final approval to build a seawater desalination plant in the southeast section of town.
Council members approved the project's coastal development permits, an owner participation agreement and a pipeline franchise agreement 5-0-2: Mayor Pro-Tem Jill Hardy and Councilman Gil Coerper were absent. The council had approved the subsequent environmental impact report, 6-1, with Hardy dissenting earlier in the month.
"This is a project that will ultimately be a new source of water for the region, for Huntington Beach," Councilman Don Hansen said. "In the future, I think we will be glad we made this move. It isn't our solution to our water problem, but it is an element of it."