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Economy

Agreement Reached To Study Desalination Plant At Camp Pendleton

By Ed Joyce / Reporter
Published April 22, 2010 at 1:23 PM PDT
This story was published more than 14 years ago.
Agreement Reached To Study Desalination Plant At Camp Pendleton
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies today to study the feasibility of building a desalination plant on the base.

The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies today to study the feasibility of building a desalination plant on the base.

In a news release, the Water Authority says the agreement sets terms and conditions for it to conduct offshore and onshore technical studies. It will provide a framework for Camp Pendleton to evaluate whether a desalination facility would adversely impact military training, the environment, or the quality of life of Camp Pendleton residents.

The Water Authority says two potential sites for the plant, both in the southwest corner of the base near the mouth of the Santa Margarita River, were reviewed as part of a feasibility study in 2009. That Water Authority study identified Camp Pendleton as a desirable location for several reasons:

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  • The location has the potential availability of a coastal site large enough to accommodate a large-scale, expandable facility;
  • A plant at Camp Pendleton could produce between 50 million and 150 million gallons per day, or 56,000 to 168,000 acre-feet annually;
  • A facility at the north end of the Water Authority’s regional aqueduct system also would allow for more extensive and efficient distribution of the desalinated water.

The Camp Pendleton seawater desalination studies, along with similar studies planned or under way for potential sites in Baja California, will be used in the development of a 2012 Regional Water Facilities Master Plan.

The Water Authority will use the plan to determine the need for additional seawater desalination, compare it against other supply alternatives, and recommend projects for inclusion in its capital improvement program in order to meet future water supply reliability needs for San Diego County.

The studies will enable the Water Authority to evaluate the feasibility and cost of building and operating a seawater desalination plant on the base capable of producing 50 million gallons or more of drinking water daily.

The MOU does not obligate either party beyond the study phase.

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Ed Joyce
Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.
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