How California's New Environmental Regulations On Desalination Affect Carlsbad's Plant

This is KPBS Midday Edition, I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. The desalination plant in Carlsbad, online later this year, there are quite a few coastal communities in California giving getting very interested in building their own. California became the first state or country for that matter to adopt environmental guidelines for building and operating desalination plant. Plurals include precautions on how water is taken into the plants to limit the sea lice harmed in the process and guidelines on how the plants salty discharge should be returned to the ocean. The State water resources Board says the new rules provide a consistent framework for communities considering desalination. Critics of the process say the rules are not strict or clear enough. Joining me are Bob Yamada water resources manager for the San Diego County water Authority welcome to the program. And Matt O'Malley legal and policy director with San Diego cost keep her. Tell us if you can simply as possible what the guidelines require new desalination plants to do when it comes to water intake. First of all, the state of California went through a seven-year process where they engaged ocean and marine experts and engaged the stakeholders involved in desalination and then process culminated last Wednesday with the adoption of these regulations that really govern how desalination intake and discharges are to be implemented. How are they supposed to take the watering? Different options for doing that and part of the process we need to go through a feasibility determination to look at options for doing and above the surface intake or below the surface and take and different options on discharges. I think the key point here as you pointed out is after this process was concluded we have now is some of the most if not the most protected environmentally protective regulations in the world regarding desalination facilities. Two ways the plants can treat discharge. Pulp a ways to deal with that. You need to go through a process of looking at those different options and at the end of the process, that is what ultimately will be evaluated by the permitting agencies and permitted if at all fall sink and plans of those regulations. As I understand it there is -- multiple options. Two main ones. That the state water board is offering to desalinate. The subsurface intake, as opposed to a grill over and above into the water intake. Which one of those is the better one do you think? It's easily our opinion that we prefer to see subsurface intake. The environmental impact. There is a lot of marine life that happens when you have those and certain screens that can be devised by the report from the board themselves, show that they are very effective at reducing mortality so what we were hoping in this policy to see something is it's not a mandate. It clear preference. A rebuttable presumption. And we think it leaves a lot of discretion to the regional board. I think there will be some inconsistency as to how it is applied statewide. That's one of our main issues here with that. What about the disc charge. Two major options for that as well. That the state board is offering or recommending. Fixing with wastewater. Part of the issue with that is we want to see wastewater put to official use. We talk but the pure water a lot. There are technologies. I think it comes down to the policy, I want to say that there is good policy. We don't think it's all bad. It will we had hoped to see is where it comes with feasibility analysis. Based more on the federal rules as far as what is feasible technologically feasible and including cost. I think you'll see it is pretty expensive. But we greatly prefer that. We would like to have seen the relation to put that out and if not a requirement, a presumption. How does this -- first foal is permitted based upon the power plant adjacent with that facility. The Encina power station. While the plan is of rating, has zero impact on marine life. Ultimately though that power plant is going to cease operations. And when that happens the Carlsbad project will need to come into compliance with these new regulation so we will go through an analysis to look at different types of intake and what we went through that analysis we found subsurface intake were not feasible. So unless something has significantly changed we would not find it. We likely would not find that to be the case today. As far as discharge, the new regulations allow a type of dilution methodology that we would plant is a Carlsbad, and we would continue to look at that as a feasible option into the future. Why is it important that desalination take precautions. About how they taken ocean water The laws pretty clear that we must consider all forms. There are that don't pay attention. That are part of our there so much makes part of our culture and the importance of our ocean and are -- to us we really want to minimize that impact, unless you are using particularly subsurface have a preference me policy that need to be for use it feasible, you'll see negative impacts. We want to see cutting down that. We depend so much on our ocean environment has a lot of problems at this point anyway. And I was going to be interested in. Another basic question for you so we are all on the same page, why can't the DCL plants popery back into the ocean? Other issues with that. Extra solidity in certain areas can have a negative impact. Heavy salt will do to the bottom. And can have negative impacts on the environment. Certain area, maybe understood that would be negatively impacted an outside that. And it's hard for us to accept any sort of sacrifice. Over Brenda resources. We favor any kind of technology. Improve as a result of this and he feasibility studies that can more or less find some issue, find some way to reuse that beneficially, water or wastewater beneficially. If we get to that that would be great. What specifically is the Carlsbad plant is going to be doing us in the next couple of years while the Encina plant is still operational? It goes online, Bob talked more closely about that. Part of our portfolio at this point, I don't know what's the plan comes down. Feasibility study and oppressive going to be engaging. Ocean activist. And what we hope is that if we can't show that there are some service at the time. To make sure that the mitigation is appropriate. Another issue we have with the newer policy. Give us an update if you would on the Carlsbad plant, one will be ready to provide water to San Diego County. Carlsbad project is about 90 to plead at this point. And only major construction activities are winding down and we are in the process of testing and commissioning that plant and we look to bring up plant online in the fall. This year. When it comes online, it will be providing between seven and 10% of our water supply which is can understand, it is terrific to be able to bring on a new water supply in the middle of a long-term drought. How exactly is that water going to be taken from the and put into the County water supply. The water will be taken off of the power plants circulation system from there it is pumped up to the desalination plant where it is prefilter. Goes through the reverse osmosis process and well be pumped 10 miles east to the water Authority distribution system or then it can be distributed throughout the County. It is not a separate source? Part and parcel of all the water in San Diego County? That is correct. Blended with our other sources users throughout our county A much more expensive well that make the water then we get from traditional sources. Inferential is about double. What we pay for imported water and what we are going to pay for desalinated water about double. What that translates to, the average residential customer is an increase of about $5 a month. Okay everybody's Bill is going to go up $5 a month for this water specifically. Over and above any other kinds of bumps we get from water but more expensive from other sources. In addition to the Carlsbad plant, there is a desalination plant under consideration at camp Pendleton? We have been doing some long-term planning. For camp Pendleton project. I should say that before lunch into that I wanted to mention that we bring the Carlsbad project online and the natural question is what is next. And we really see the next increment of water supply of being wastewater recycling or portable reuse as Matt has talked about. Keep your water program and other projects that are being considered that are similar in our County. We see that as the next incremental water supply but beyond that and out past 2030 the question is what is out there beyond that? We have been doing some feasibility and planning studies looking at the potential for desalination plant on camp Pendleton working closely with the Marines and the staff there, and looking at the potential to as to how we might help a project Eric that is going to conform to the new regulation so we have been looking quite closely at the opportunitiesopportunities, the subsurface intake, and two of them and some of these things, because I can Pendleton unlike Carlsbad, you have to build all new intake and discharge to structure. What you're saying here is that even though the plan is slowly developing, at camp Pendleton and that may provide San Diego County some water after 2030 and beyond, what you are seeing after the Carlsbad desalination goes online is that additional sources of water are going to come from recycling. The next increment, that is correct. As we look at the conditions that are unfolding around us and we consider that we are in a fourth consecutive dry year in the state, and really but for punctuated by eight what 2011, that is eight out of the last nine years that happen dry. And similarly on the Colorado River, another source of water for us, we have seen 11 out of the last 15 years the lower than normal in terms of rentals. Those sources and the uncertainties associated with those sources really point us to the development of new local supplies to sustain a reliable water supply mix for our region. Before I go to Matt, let me ask a quick question, why don't we -- are we planning to rely on desalinization war than just Carlsbad and a possible plant in the middle of the century. I think that what we have been executing over the last two and half decades in terms of our region, the water retail agencies has been a strategy of diversifying our water supply. All of the above. Conservation, whether it is desalination, recycling, all of these things in similar to diversifying financial portfolio, this is the same open. As we look to the future, we see these different supplies coming online as part of that overall strategy of divers of the patient. Hearing Bob say that San Diego County is not going to be looking towards the ocean. For a larger water supply, is something that you are really happy to hear because I know environmental leaves, these new guidelines are not big fans of desalination. That is fair to say. Just so you know we are water diversification. Probably where we differ most is how we prioritize that. Art [ Indiscernible ] we have a long way to go as far as conservation which is the most environmentally friendly and she does water source and people in the San Diego now are averaging 80 gallons per capita per day. Upwards of 500 gallons per day. Prioritizing large infrastructure projects may do we want to use the drought to consider the old form of acquisition and consumption over a new water conservation ethic before we -- while we are very supportive of diversification. And pure water program and we differ most the prioritization economic environment Why specifically is at the bottom? Energy intense. We talk about the intake and I'll fall and energy is not getting any cheaper is no. It is very energy intense. Which have been shown at this point to contribute to longer and more frequent when you invest in high-energy you are contributing to this cycle. I realize it is not easy. And it's important to prioritize the conservation first before that. We understand that and it will be part of the conversation and statewide. Suggestions, recommendations, that we have solar powered desalinization plants would that work? Our position has been -- people might interpret our what we say that. Renewable energy. On the world actually. And a way to service intake. Once we go to that prioritization. We need to tap the water. Nothing supportive. At least that's our position. How seriously does video take the concerns As we and them seriously minimize the and for example the Carlsbad project when 36 your permitting process. Desalinization plants. Said yes, this project is environmentally responsible as the water authority and engage stakeholders. Component of our mission and supplies Bob we will have you back in the fall. I've been speaking with Bob Yamada with San Diego County water Authority and Matt O'Malley. Thank you.