HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA, May 19, 2016 -- Today, leaders from across California’s diverse business and labor communities joined together to support the proposed Huntington Beach desalination facility (the Project) and call on the California Coastal Commission to approve the Coastal Development Permit (CDP) -- the last outstanding permit needed before construction can begin on the Project.
"Growing California’s economy and building our future begins with a clean, secure, and reliable source of drinking water," said Ron Miller, Executive Secretary with the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. "Making smart investments in infrastructure will benefit working families for decades to come. Organized labor across our region is proud to support the construction of a new desalination facility in Huntington Beach and call on the California Coastal Commission to take action to move forward with the project."
"Our massive federation of business networks strongly supports Poseidon Water and the Orange County Water District's partnership on the Huntington Beach Desalination Project ," said Tracy Hernandez, CEO of the Los Angeles County Business Federation. "Drought and uncertain water supply conditions across the state make it imperative that Southern California communities find new, long-term solutions to the water needs of residents and businesses. We call on the California Coastal Commission to approve the proposed facility’s permit."
Over the course of the Project’s construction phase over 3,000 jobs will be generated and over $500 million dollars will be infused into the regional economy. In addition to bringing the single largest source of new, local drinking water supply available to Orange County -- 6,000 acre-feet of water annually -- the water treatment plant being built by Poseidon is a 100% private investment in Orange County’s drinking water supply.
The CDP is the last discretionary construction permit required to begin construction on the proposed 50 million gallon per day seawater desalination project. Poseidon applied for the necessary permit almost a decade ago, and their application was only recently deemed complete by the Coastal Commission. A permit hearing before the Coastal Commission is anticipated within the next six months and as early as July.
California’s newest desalination facility in Carlsbad began regular production in mid-December 2015 and is, to date, the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination plant in the nation, delivering over 6 billion gallons of drinking water to San Diego County residents to date.
