Q: Why can’t California use desalinated water during the drought?
—Carmen Kimura, Ellenwood
A: Desalination plants are expensive to build, have high power costs and opponents say they are harmful to the environment.
The Carlsbad Desalination Project and plant, which has cost nearly $1 billion, is expected to be complete in June and will provide 7 percent to 10 percent of San Diego County’s drinking water by the end of 2015, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Santa Barbara has plans to spend up to $40 million to refurbish and use a desalination plant that cost $35 million when it was built during a drought in the early 1990s, but rain delayed its construction and it was never used.
Another plant is being built in Monterey, where officials explored a variety of options, Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett told KQED Radio.
“Everything was on the table — harnessing icebergs and bringing them down, filling up huge balloons of water from up north and bringing them down.”
Environmentalists say the intakes from desalination plants damage marine life by “sucking microorganisms, fish eggs and plankton” from the ocean, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Leftover brine, which is sometimes returned to the ocean, is too salty and can harm the environment, the California Coastal Commission told the paper in 2013.
The Carlsbad plant also is expected to add “$4 to $7 on a monthly $75 water bill,” the Union-Tribune reported.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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