In the small coastal city of Manhattan Beach, in southwest Los Angeles, the City Council has opposed the construction of a seawater desalination plant.  The West Basin Municipal Water District proposed the construction of a $300 million (USD) plant that would produce between 75,710 and 227,100 cubic metres water a day for the West Basin’s service area, which encompasses 17 cities that are located mostly in South Bay.^[1]

The West Basin Water District is currently preparing an environmental impact report for the plant, which will be released this summer.  If regulatory agencies approve the plant, construction will begin in 2020 and complete in 2023.^[2]  However, environmental activists and city officials are sceptical about the plant.  Some have stated that West Basin should focus on recycled or reclaimed water rather than desalination; others have expressed concerns about the influence of the plant on marine life.^[3]

Meanwhile, southern California’s Orange County Water District has reaffirmed its support of Poseidon Water’s proposed $1 billion (USD) desalination plant in Huntington Beach.^[4]  Even though the water district released a new report that indicates water demand in 2040 will fall 17 percent below previous projections—its supervisory board has urged the California Coastal Commission to approve the desalination plant project’s final permit.^[5]  Orange County’s water district officials are also exploring 5 of 8 proposed water distribution options for the plant—in order to determine the ways in which water may be transported from the desalination facility to users in the service area.^[6] 

According to current agreements, Poseidon will be responsible for financing, constructing, and operating the plant, while the water district would have responsibility for financing, constructing, and operating the distribution systems.^[7]

IDE, an Israeli desalination company, is hosting a free webinar this week that will provide insight into desalination plants using reverse osmosis.  The company’s Senior Director of Technical Solutions & Products, Miriam Faigon, will lead the seminar, entitled “Overcoming the Hurdles of Mega-Sized RO Desalination Plants.”  Topics covered include: the importance of selecting the properly-sized membranes; the differences between pressure centre design and individual train design; and how to improve energy costs and reduce installation risk.^[8]