Using the ocean to help meet California's drinking water needs could lead to destruction of marine life and turn a public resource into a private commodity, according to a California Coastal Commission report released Thursday.
Desalination also could remove a major obstacle to development, putting more of a burden on local infrastructure and sensitive habitats, the commission report said.
The report, unveiled at a commission meeting in Huntington Beach, the site of a proposed desalination plant, is a first attempt by the state agency to clarify some of the major concerns about using the ocean as a source of drinking water.
After a 60-day public comment period, the commission will prepare a final report.
Environmental groups that oppose the proposed Huntington Beach plant, including the Sierra Club and the Surfrider Foundation, applauded the preliminary findings.
"We believe desalination should only be used as a last resort and then under the absolute control of the people who depend on it for survival ... so it serves the common good, not stockholders and CEOs," said Huntington Beach resident John Earl, representing Public Citizen, the Ralph Nader-founded public interest group.
The Huntington Beach plant, proposed by Connecticut-based Poseidon Resources, is one of about 20 desalination projects proposed along the California coastline. At least six are proposed by private companies or public-private partnerships. The Poseidon plant would produce drinking water for nearly 500,000 Orange County residents.
The $240-million plant would be built next to the AES power plant on Pacific Coast Highway and would use that facility's intake and outtake pipelines to collect seawater and dispose of the leftover salty brine.
Critics contend that the Huntington Beach project would put ocean water, considered a public trust held in common for public use and enjoyment, in the hands of a private company. They also point to problems at other plants, including one in Tampa, Fla., that has been shut down for several weeks because of problems with its filters.
"I think it's one of the worst ideas, putting a public resource like water in private hands where the ultimate regulator is Wall Street," said Coastal Commission member Patrick Kruer.
