The directors of Cambria Community Services District directors unanimously agreed at a special meeting on 18 September 2009 to appropriate US$166,000 for its long-planned desalination project north-west of San Luis Obispo in California.
The US Army Corps of Engineers announced on 28 April 2009 that it would receive US$ 2.5 million in funding for the 1,600 m³/d project through the new American Recovery & Reinvestment Act
District board President Greg Sanders said the new money was a 25% local match for federal stimulus funds. To keep the Cambria project’s place in line for money in the federal budget for 2008-2009, the local match has to be deposited with the Corps by 22 September 2009.
The Corps is working on a study to determine if enough ocean water could be drawn from subsurface wells under the sand near the mouth of Santa Rosa Creek to supply a desalination plant to supplement Cambria’s water supply.