“Look at Australia. I don’t want to be stupid,” said Alex Forman, chairman of the Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors on 11 February 2009 after the board approved continuation of work towards a 5-15 MGD (19,000-57,000 m³/d) desalination plant sourcing San Francisco Bay.
The plant would be part of a number of steps, including conservation, to reduce the water supply deficit in the board area.
The approval means that the board can order the securing of permits for various facilities to be able to operate a desalination plan, although a final decision would possibly not occur until 2011. The plant could be operational by 2014.