A $1-billion desalination plant might be coming to Huntington Beach, but it will test California's

[TexasTowelie]

A $1-billion desalination plant might be coming to Huntington Beach, but it will test California's environmental rules

Poseidon Water hopes to help quench Orange County’s thirst, but first the company’s proposed desalination project must slake a thirst of its own.

That’s why Poseidon has long eyed a coastal power plant that has, for more than a half-century, sucked up seawater to cool its massive generators.

The AES Huntington Beach Generating Station’s giant smokestacks and steam boilers will be gone in a few years, replaced under state orders by a smaller plant that uses air, rather than the ocean, to keep from overheating.

But if Poseidon has its way, the $1-billion desalter it wants to build next door will simply take over use of the power station’s old intake pipe, which reaches roughly a quarter-mile into the ocean and is big enough for a tractor-trailer to drive through.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-poseidon-desalination-20161005-snap-story.html

[SHRED]

1. Desal is a scam

Desalination is a scam by the private sector to siphon off even more of our tax dollars and through higher water rates. It pollutes the ocean and kills many ocean creatures plus contributes to greenhouse gases. It is very costly on a lot of fronts and we citizens are on the hook once again. Conservation retrofitting and reclaiming water is far more effective and far less costly in terms of dollars and the environment.

Desal is a ripoff. Our water rates are going to be locked in at a higher rate for the next 30 years to pay for this corporate welfare and we get very little water at extremely high cost. If we had locked rates higher to pay for conservation and reclaimed water use our money would have gone for up to 8 times more efficient use than desal without all the negatives regarding the ocean environment. We would have more water at less cost. Stupid use of money. Our money. Crony capitalism is ugly and we're paying for it with these privatized pet projects. The shareholders of Poseidon are guaranteed a return on their investment through our locked in higher rates. More money from us to line the pockets of the affluent.


"...The water to be produced at the plant costs 4 to 8 times more than other water sources such as groundwater or recycled water. And rate payers are bound to a 30- year contract to buy the water."

http://angeles.sierraclub.org/news/blog/2013/03/desalination_destroys_environment_and_isnt_quick_fix_southern_californias_water