Carlsbad, Ca., March 10, 2016 - State regulators have certified the supply of potable water from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant as drought-resilient, reducing the regional impacts of emergency water-use mandates the state imposed in June 2015. Certification by the State Water Resources Control Board lowers the regional aggregate water conservation goal from 20 percent to about 13 percent, though water-use targets will continue to vary by local water agency. On Feb. 2, the State Board extended mandatory conservation measures for water agencies statewide through October and said it would reconsider the regulations after assessing reservoir levels as well as snowpack and regional water supply conditions in April. The State Board also approved supply credits toward meeting conservation targets for agencies that have developed local, drought-resilient supplies since 2013.

State-mandated water restrictions in San Diego County will be eased soon from 20 percent to 13 percent on average, thanks to the new desalination plant in Carlsbad, officials announced Thursday. The San Diego County Water Authority said state regulators have certified the supply of potable water from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant as drought-resilient.
The plant, which opened in December, is the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant and produces about 50 million gallons per day of high-quality, drought-proof water.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jessica Jones (760) 655-3900 download a pdf.
Region Commemorates History-Making Project, Dedicates New Plant in Honor of Former Carlsbad Mayor Claude ‘Bud’ Lewis
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​Carlsbad, CA – Operations are under way at the nation’s largest and most technologically advanced seawater desalination plant, which was dedicated today by more than 600 elected officials, community leaders and project partners. After successfully completing construction, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant has already produced more than 1.5 billion gallons of locally controlled water for San Diego County, helping to minimize the region’s vulnerability to the statewide drought. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 17, Poseidon Water announced its unprecedented commitment to carbon neutrality by offsetting 100% of the direct and indirect emissions from the construction and operation of its proposed Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Plant, which is currently under review by the California Coastal Commission. Poseidon’s Energy Minimization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan (“GHG Plan”) was submitted to the Commission as part of its permit application on November 9th. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tatiana Halsted  707-631-8906 download a pdf.

Huntington Beach, CA – Today, Poseidon Water announced its unprecedented commitment to carbon neutrality by offsetting 100% of the direct and indirect emissions from the construction and operation of its proposed Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Plant, which is currently under review by the California Coastal Commission. Poseidon’s Energy Minimization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan (“GHG Plan”) was submitted to the Commission as part of its permit application on November 9th. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tatiana Halsted  707-631-8906 download a pdf.
Panel finds that subsurface intake at the proposed site would have “Severe” Environmental Impacts 
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Huntington Beach, CA – After releasing a public review draft in August, the Independent Scientific Technical Advisory Panel (ISTAP) jointly convened by the California Coastal Commission staff and Poseidon Water has published its final report assessing the feasibility of alternative subsurface seawater intake technologies for Poseidon Water’s proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Project. The report judges that subsurface intake technologies at the site would lead to “severe” adverse environmental and social impacts during construction as well as long-term environmental impacts from operations. Compared to the screened-ocean intake proposed by the company, the ISTAP also concluded that subsurface intakes would cost an additional $1.1 - $1.5 billion to construct, and be economically infeasible due to the financing risks that are a barrier to implementation. ​

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Adam Keigwin 916-444-1380 download a pdf.
82 percent of Californians want state to approve desalination projects

STANFORD, CALIF - Today, the Hoover Institute released a statewide poll that shows Californians overwhelmingly support the building of desalination facilities on California’s coast. 
Across all demographic groups – including age, race, gender, geographic location, education level, and political party affiliation – respondents support desalination. In fact, 82 percent of those polled support building desalination facilities, with 57 percent strongly supporting. ​

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tatiana Halsted  707-631-8906 Download a pdf.
Poseidon revises project to comply with new state desalination policy 

Huntington Beach, CA – Today, Poseidon Water announced that it has resubmitted its application to the California Coastal Commission for the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Project (Project).  The application comes after the successful completion of the Commission’s Independent Scientific Technical Advisory Panel’s (ISTAP) 20-month evaluation of the feasibility of alternative subsurface seawater intake technologies. The Coastal Development Permit is the last discretionary permit necessary to authorize the construction of the Huntington Beach Desalination Project, which could begin construction in 2016 and be completed in 2019. ​