California say no to new desalination plant

You don’t get thirsty til the well runs dry.

 

Crazy. It was unanimously rejected too. Their argument was they don’t need the water because they can just conserve. Sounds like a great plan with a worsening drought and growing population.

This the site where they would locate it too. Not exactly eye-pleasing.

 

a. CNN? pfftt... can't trust the left wing media (am I doing this right?)
b. Your dismissive tone is surprising. I'm not an expert in the technology or the costs, but it seems entirely possible that better near term options are available than this proposed plant. I'm sure it's been studied to death.

"The commission is appointed or chosen by state lawmakers and the governor. Ahead of the vote, its staff recommended against the facility, pointing in part to desalination's incredible energy consumption, its impacts on marine life, projected sea-level rise and the cost of the resulting water itself -- with that cost being passed on to customers."

 

Its one of the best known beaches in So Cal, particularly for surfing. Seems like a location / eyesore issue.

 

2.3 From Desalination to Destruction – Environmental ScienceBites

 

The population isn't the issue. Growing much of American produce in a borderline desert is.

I wonder if that's why they rejected this plant, instead planning to regulate Big Ag water usage in some big way. I'm not saying that's a good plan, for the record. I don't know.

 

Remember that ~80% of Cali fresh water is used in agriculture and ag processing. Google the Imperial Valley and the Great Central Valley water demands. Google how much water is required to create a bottle of wine or six pack of beer or a bag of almonds. IMHO desal is one of the tools in water supply, but it is not the silver bullet to cure our water woes. I am planning on re-landscaping my lawn to native drought resistant plants that require watering 1-2 times per month in the summer. Green lawns in Cali are beyond stupid. It would be awesome if the state subsidized the "little" people instead of big business (i.e, subsidizing replanting natives and providing developers some, minor incentive as well (hard for me to see subsidizing developers-but that's another topic re. subsidizing capitalism). A important adage to remember in many engineering projects is KISS - keep it simple.

 

The alternatives mentioned in the article were directed toward residential water usage

 

This makes it a bit unlikely it's merely a cost issue:

 

Do you think that big bad California should offer a low interest loan to one of it's poorer sister states, like maybe Mississippi? Actually, I would prefer a rebate from Uncle Gavin, taxes out here do kinda suck.

 

And this is the queue to drop debate. You can’t argue with illogic.

Californians have once again let their emotion get the better of what’s left of their common sense.

Let’s just see how that conservation thing goes in a few years when the desalinization plant could have been operational.

 

alfalfa, exported to feed chinese beef and middle eastern stables, is the number 1 consumer of water in California. big ag is essentially exporting water. Almonds and alfalfa need to be cut out of the ag mix and much more desal added.

People revolted against this plant because it was a private company willing to invest billions nd horror of all horrors, they expected to make a return on their investment. It isn't a pristine beach area or nature preserve, it is an industrial area that borders the beach

Which Crops Consume the Most Water? - MSFAgriculture

from 2014, still true today

California drought: Why farmers are 'exporting water' to China - BBC News
Farmers are calling for urgent help, people in cities are being told to conserve water and the governor is warning of record drought. But at the other end of the state the water is flowing as the sprinklers are making it rain in at least one part of southern California. The farmers are making hay while the year-round sun shines, and they are exporting cattle-feed to China.

The southern Imperial Valley, which borders Mexico, draws its water from the Colorado river along the blue liquid lifeline of the All American Canal. It brings the desert alive with hundreds of hectares of lush green fields - much of it alfalfa hay, a water-hungry but nutritious animal feed which once propped up the dairy industry here, and is now doing a similar job in China. "A hundred billion gallons of water per year is being exported in the form of alfalfa from California," argues Professor Robert Glennon from Arizona College of Law.

"It's a huge amount. It's enough for a year's supply for a million families - it's a lot of water, particularly when you're looking at the dreadful drought throughout the south-west."
Manuel Ramirez from K&M Press is an exporter in the Imperial Valley, and his barns are full of hay to be compressed, plastic-wrapped, packed directly into containers and driven straight to port where they are shipped to Asia and the Middle East.

 

So Aging, that is the difference between you and I. I would prefer that businesses pay an equitable cost for the natural resources that they use, especially if that natural resource cost is also subsidized by the state and federal government. The way it is set up currently, is that the citizen's (taxpayers) get shafted twice, all in the name of the government (read politicians) supporting big business. I have never been a proponent of NED. Why should the government support capitalism? I thought free market was the American way (as, if).

 

Its not "illogical" or emotional. Yes, you can build the desalinization plant to deal with your water problem but it compounds your energy consumption problem, which is also an environmental issue, one that leads to warmer, drier climate which affects the water supply and energy availability (remember the brownouts a few years ago). There are always tradeoffs here, not magical solutions to problems.

 

Some very informative posts here. Thanks!

 

More energy intensive than the alfalfa and almonds. It’s like solving the persistent bad toe that creates tough walking by cutting off the foot.

 

The energy consumption would be a drawback, but one that would be necessary given not only the current drought but the likelihood for many more extended ones. It's myopic to reject this plant.