Carlsbad gets approval from Coastal Commission

The California Coastal Commission (CCC) finally approved the Carlsbad seawater desalination plant near San Diego at the beginning of August.

The largest and most advanced seawater desalination project under development in the USA, the 189,000 m³/d plant is co-located with the Encina coastal power generation station, which currently uses seawater for once-through cooling. The reverse-osmosis project is developed as a public-private partnership between Poseidon Resources and eight utilities and municipalities in San Diego County. It will be in operation around mid-2011.

The CCC also approved the construction of another much smaller desalination plant that would provide fresh water for an development proposed near the historic Cannery Row on the Monterey peninsula. The plant will meet the Ocean View Plaza housing and commercial development’s need for some 25,000 gal/day (95,000 L/d).