Regional Desalinaton Project

RECENT NEWS:

March, 2011
We're excited to share news of recent progress that's been made on the project. In December of 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the project, which grants authorization to construct. In January of 2011, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously reaffirmed their support for a project, voting to issue a Notice of Determination on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We will keep you informed as we move forward with additional permitting requirements and final design work for the project, which will consist of a 10 million gallon per day brackish water desalination facility in Marina and associated storage and distribution infrastructure. Below you'll find details of the project. For even more information, please visit the official Regional Desalination Project web site, or download our project brochure.

Project Partners
The Regional Water Project is a water desalination partnership among the Monterey County Water Resource Agency, Marina Coast Water District, and California American Water. The project was developed by involving stakeholders representing a diversity of interests. It represents a true collaboration among public agencies, the water utility, municipal governments, non-governmental organizations and citizens. We worked together because an adequate, reliable water supply is critical to the future of the Monterey Peninsula and the region.

Project Location
Click on the image below to view and download a full-size version of the map.

Project Overview
The Regional Desalination Project is California American Water’s proposed solution to the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply shortage. The project consists of a seawater desalination plant and aquifer storage and recovery facilities. The project will replace water pumped from the Carmel River upon which the community has come to rely. The project is based upon the recommendation by an independent team of environmental consultants selected by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) of how to best meet the community’s water supply needs. After a series of public hearings and workshops, the Regional Desalination Project was suggested as the best alternative to a long-debated new dam and reservoir on the Carmel River. Key features of the proposed projects include:

- A 10 MGD Seawater desalination facility
- Aquifer Storage and Recovery Facilities
- Conveyance Pipeline
- Storage Reservoirs
- Pump Stations and connections to existing infrastructure

The CPUC originally certified the EIR on December 17, 2009, and the vote on the Certificate of Convenience and Public Necessity, as mentioned above, will now allow us to proceed with applications for additional permits from federal, state and local agencies as well as detailed design work. Construction of the project is anticipated to be complete in 2015.

Project History
Unlike many communities in California, the Monterey Peninsula does not import water from the Sacramento Delta or Colorado River. Instead, in its semi-arid climate, the peninsula community is completely dependent on local rainfall for its water supply. The Carmel River has served as the main source for the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply since the first dam was built on the river in the late 1890s. California American Water traditionally supplied its customers with water from wells located near the river in the Carmel Valley Aquifer. The water supplied was considered to be groundwater, which is not subject to State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) jurisdiction. However, in 1995, the SWRCB ruled that California American Water’s wells were diverting from the underflow of the Carmel River, thus making the diversion subject to SWRCB jurisdiction. Order 95-10 was adopted, which held that California American Water had no valid permits for nearly 70 percent of the community’s water supply. Supply restrictions increased in 2006, when as the result of a court adjudication process, cutbacks were ordered in the Seaside Groundwater Basin, the Monterey Peninsula’s only other water source.

In October 2009, the SWRCB issued a Cease and Desist Order requiring the Monterey Peninsula community to comply with a cutback schedule on its withdrawals from the Carmel Valley Aquifer. California American Water maintains that significant decreases in the area’s water supply cannot be achieved without a new water project and has protested the Order in Monterey County Superior Court. Since Order 95-10 was issued, California American Water and its customers have managed to decrease water consumption by more than 20% through ambitious water conservation efforts. Today, the average Monterey Peninsula resident uses 70 gallons of water per day, approximately half of what the average Californian consumes. Additional mandatory cutbacks on the Monterey Peninsula may require water rationing and other strict measures. California American Water advocates instead a water solution that combines conservation, best management practices, use of alternative water sources and development of a new, sustainable water supply.

Desalination Technology
Seawater desalination is used in 120 countries around the world for drinking water. As the technology has improved and costs have lessened, communities in the United States are increasingly looking toward desalination for additional water supplies, or to replace use from over-stressed rivers and aquifers. Desalination is accomplished through a Reverse Osmosis (RO) process in which seawater is sent through highly pressurized, fine membrane filters that remove salt and other contaminants. What’s left is pure H20, which is why many bottled water companies use RO filters to produce their product.You can learn more about desalination technology in our Desalination White Paper.

California American Water developed and completed a 12-month study, which included operation of a pilot desalination plant at the Moss Landing Power Plant. The pilot plant functioned as a mini version of a seawater desalination plant, drawing 22,000 gallons of ocean water per day from the power plant’s cooling systems and testing a variety of membrane and treatment technologies to help refine design of a full-scale project. Desalinated water produced by the pilot plant was tested for more than 100 compounds in a water quality study that will be submitted to the Department of Public Health as part of the project permitting process. The data collected in this study will be valuable to the ultimate project, regardless of its location. All of the water produced by the pilot plant was returned to the ocean through the power plant’s outfall. Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) captures excess flows from the Carmel River during the rainy season and stores them in natural underground aquifer for withdrawal during the dry summer months. 

Environmental Impact
The Regional Desalination Project will enable California American Water to reduce its pumping from the Carmel River and the over-drafted Seaside Groundwater Basin. Environmental and fisheries groups concerned about the threatened South-Central California Coast steelhead trout found in the Carmel River have sought reductions in community’s use of the Carmel River as its primary water source. California American Water and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District conduct programs on the river to protect the steelhead and their environment. California American Water maintains fish ladders and traps on their two existing dams, which help fish to traverse the river unimpeded. You can read more about how California American Water is working to protect the steelhead and other species found it the here.

Pumping reductions from the Seaside Groundwater Basin will also be achieved with a desalination project and will combat the threat of seawater intrusion, which can occur when aquifers are overdrawn and water levels become too low. Sustainable use of our natural water sources is essential to protect the environment and our precious water resources.

Finally, water conservation is an important supply component of the Regional Desalination Project. Conservation programs have been in place on the Monterey Peninsula for decades, both to benefit the environment and to help manage the limited water resources of this drought-prone community. The Regional Desalination Project anticipates that water wise practices will continue in Monterey, even after a reliable supply is secured.

Contact Us
We want to hear from you. Express your views and help us improve the project. Email comments to: info@regionalwaterproject.org. We also encourage you to contact us if you would like to schedule a presentation to your club, group or homeowner association concerning the need for water conservation or our future water supply.