Desalination in California's Central Coast Region

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A watershed-related issue examined by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.

Summary

Desalination is a constant consideration as an alternative water supply in Central California, where water for agricultural and residential use is in short supply.[1] In 2009, the California State Water Resources Control Board issued a Cease and Desist Order, requiring CalAm to reduce its pumping from the Carmel River by 70% by 2016 [2]. The Carmel River is the primary water source for the region, so alternative water sources are necessary. The Central Coast also relies heavily on groundwater supplies; however, problems with seawater intrusion make this an unsustainable alternative. As a result, many proposals for desalination facilities have been submitted as a possible solution to the water gap. [3] The number of operational desalination facilities in California nearly doubled in the period between 2006 and 2013. [4] A drought relief package on Governor Jerry Brown's desk proposes $6 million for desalination projects in the state. [5]

Desalination Technologies

Despite the increasing demand for potable water making desalination a more viable water supply option for many municipalities, concerns over the energy intensity of standard desalination technologies persist. A number of alternative processes and energy sources for desalination are in development.

Standard

  • Reverse Osmosis [6]
  • Forward Osmosis [7]

Other

  • Solar Powered [8]
    • portable solar [9]
  • Reverse Osmosis - Pressure Retarded Osmosis [10]
  • Fertilizer Drawn Forward Osmosis [11]

Unit conversions

Desalination plants are generally rated in terms of Million Gallons per Day (MGD), whereas water supply planning is often accounted in Acre Feet per Year (AFY).

1 MGD = 1,120 AFY

MGD AFY
0.5 560
1 1120
2 2240
5 5600
10 11,200

Desalination Facilities in the Central Coast

Proposed and existing desalination plats in Monterey Bay. Image: MBNMS 2006

Existing

  • Cambria - Cambria Community Services District, 0.43 MGD, permitted May 15, 2014 [12],operational November 2014 [13]
  • Marina - Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) 0.3 MGD (not currently operational) [3]
  • Moss Landing - Duke Energy, 0.48 MGD, used for power plant operations [3]
  • Monterey - Monterey Bay Aquarium,[14] 0.04 MGD, used for toilets and other on-site uses [3]
  • Sand City - City of Sand City/CalAm, 0.27 MGD [15]
  • Santa Barbara - City of Santa Barbara, long-term standby mode [16]

Abandoned

Proposed

Other California Desalination Facilities

  • Carlsbad - San Diego County Water Authority and Poseidon Water, operational, opened December 2015, 50 MGD [24] [4]
  • Huntington Beach - Poseidon Water, final permitting phase, scheduled to be operational by 2018, 50 MGD [25] [4]
  • Fresno County - WaterFX (solar desal), operational, 0.014 MGD in March 2014, goal to produce 4 MGD. [26] [8]

Main Issues

Impacts to the Marine Environment

The main potential impacts from desalination to the marine environment are impingement and entrainment of marine organisms at the water uptake as well as potential harm from the disposal of highly concentrated salt brine back into the environment [27]. Impingement occurs when fish and other organisms are trapped against inflow screens, which often results in death. Entrainment is when organisms are drawn into the facility, which are exposed to high pressures and temperatures.

Impacts to the marine environment are of particular concern in the Central Coast because the proposed facilities will operate within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The mission of the MBNMS is to protect natural resources and to implement their mission. Three of the Sanctuary's regulations are related directly to preventing impacts from desalination [28]: 1. "prohibition on discharging or depositing any material within Sanctuary boundaries", 2. "discharging materials outside of the boundaries, which subsequently enter Sanctuary waters and negatively impact MBNMS resources", and 3. "prohibition on activities that cause alteration of the seabed".

Marine impacts can be avoid or minimized with careful planning and mitigation measures. Subsurface intakes can minimize impingement and entrainment better than traditional open ocean intake methods [28]. Siting projects away from sensitive habitat or highly productive areas can also reduce the impact. To reduce impacts from brine discharge, it is recommended the brine water be diluted to a salinity of less than 5% above ambient concentration at the point of discharge [29].

Energy Consumption

Comparison of the energy intensity of California water supplies. Image: Pacific Institute [30]

The proposed desalination technologies for the Central Coast are energy intensive. Producing a million gallons of desalinated seawater uses about 15,000 kWh [30], which is equivalent to the energy use of 913 California homes per day [31]. Most of the total energy use goes towards the reverse osmosis process (70%), while pre- and post-treatment and pumping account for 13% each [30]. Pumping water from the ocean to the plant is an additional 7%.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The high energy consumption of desalination results in high carbon dioxide emissions. Most projects, such as the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project, will tap into the existing power grid. As the Central Coast transitions to renewable power sources, desalination emission estimates may decrease. Some of the theoretical emissions associated with some of the proposed desalination plants in the Central Coast are below [30]. As a reference, 1 MMT of CO2 emissions is equivilent to about one year of electricity use by 193,000 average California households [32].

Project Location Capacity (MGD) Energy Use (MWh/day) Emissions (MMT CO2e/yr)
City of Santa Cruz, Soquel Creek Water District Santa Cruz 5 75 0.007
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Del Monte Beach, Monterey 2 30 0.0003
California American Water North Marina 10 150 0.01
Ocean View Plaza Monterey 0.25 3.8 0.003

Customer Rate Increase

The cost of desalination is falling, but remains an expensive alternative. Given the high construction and energy costs of desalination, customer water bills are expected to increase. For example, a typical customer should expect their water bills to increase by approximately 40% by 2018 if the proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project is approved[33]. Below is an estimate of what a typical customer will expect to pay with the implementation of the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project [33].

Monterey Water Supply Project monthly bill estimate
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
$75.74 $79.86 $88.42 $97.27 $97.38 $106.73

Regulatory Agencies

Federal

State

Local and Regional

References

  1. The Water Supply Gap, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District 2011
  2. Cease and Desist Order WR 2009-0060, SWRCB
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Desalination feasibility study for the Monterey Bay Region 2006
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 State of Desal in California, Santa Cruz Sentinel
  5. How $1 billion in California drought plan would be spent, Santa Cruz Sentinel
  6. Desalination by reverse osmosis
  7. Forward osmosis desalination not energy efficient, Phys.org
  8. 8.0 8.1 WaterFX
  9. Remote project a proof of concept for eco-friendly desalination, Phys.org
  10. New desalination technology could answer state drought woes, Phys.org
  11. Research makes desalination cheaper and greener, Phys.org
  12. Notice of proposed increase in water rates to fund an emergency water supply project, Cambria Community Services District
  13. Cambria's emergency water supply project
  14. Monterey Bay Aquarium
  15. Sand City Water Supply Project
  16. Desalination project status, City of Santa Barbara
  17. City of Santa Cruz Water Department Desalination Project
  18. Ocean View Plaza Coastal Development Permit Application
  19. Desal response group, Sand City
  20. Environmental Assessment for the CalAm slant well test project 2014
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Marina coast gets gangbusters for its own desal plant to supply Ft. Ord, Monterey County NOW
  22. DeepWater Desal
  23. The People's Moss Landing Water Desal Project
  24. Carlsbad Desalination Plant
  25. Seawater Desalination Huntington Beach Facility
  26. California drought: Solar desalination plant shows promise, SFGate
  27. Key issues in seawater desalination in California: Marine impacts, Pacific Institute 2013
  28. 28.0 28.1 Guidelines for Desalination Plants in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary 2010
  29. Desalination Plant Entrainment Impacts and Mitigation, SWRCB 2013
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Key Issues for Seawater Desalination in California
  31. California statewide residential appliance saturation study
  32. 1MMT CO2 equivalents
  33. 33.0 33.1 CalAm customer rate impact estimates for proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project

Links

Disclaimer

This page may contain student work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessary reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.