Seal Beach Tentatively Backs Huntington Beach Desalination Plant

Seal Beach officials decided to continue discussions with a company that plans to build a plant in Huntington Beach that could turn millions of gallons of seawater into fresh water and could send some of it Seal Beach's way.

The City Council this week voted to send a “non-binding letter of interest” in a desalination plant proposed by Connecticut-based Poseidon Resources. The company plans to build the facility on the property currently occupied by the AES Generating Station on Pacific Coast Highway at Newland Street and hopes the plant will be operational in 2014.

The vote on the letter comes at a time when state and local officials are looking for alternative sources of drinking water. According to a 2012 federal study, the Colorado River won’t be able to support the growing population of California and other Western states.

Project supporters say the desalination plant would reduce county demand for imported water and serve as a backup in case local supplies run dry. Critics say the project is expensive, the cost-per-gallon is too high and the wastewater from the plant would hurt the environment.

The council’s letter states the “intent to purchase 850 acre-feet per year of desalinated water," but officials also voted to word the letter so the city could opt-out at any time and not be legally required to participate, according to the city attorney.

City staff said the letter would help keep Seal Beach at the table as the project moves forward even if Seal Beach decides it doesn’t want or need the plant’s water.  

Councilman Gordon Shanks described the plant as “somewhat like fire insurance for your house.” If a home never burns down, Sloan said, the homeowner spent money for nothing, but if the fire torches the home, the owner made a good decision.

“It’s a little bit of a safety clause,” Sloan said.

More than a dozen people spoke on the issue during public comments at this week’s council meeting.

Seal Beach resident Lisa Rosen said the documents she obtained from the city seemed to show that Seal Beach's current water supply was adequate and that officials didn't expect any of growth in city water needs.

She also said she was concerned Poseidon would use the city's letter of interest as a marketing ploy to promote the plant.

“I think that it (the letter) is more likely is to lend your authority and your influence to a project that is suspect,” Rosen said.

Bruce Monroe, another Seal Beach resident and member of the Sierra club, said the majority members of the local club were opposed to the plant for a number of reasons including the cost and the damage it would do to the environment.

“We are obviously not opposed to clean water,” Monroe said. “We’re opposed to expensive water.”

Other critics who spoke included Debbie Cook, the former mayor of Huntington Beach, and a representative from the Surfrider Foundation.

Scott Maloni, vice president of Poseidon, said the company was trying to gauge interest in a project that would benefit many people.

“It’s reliable. It’s drought-proof,” Maloni said. “It’s an insurance plan.”

A representative from the Municipal Water District of Orange County, which provides Seal Beach’s water, spoke in favor of the letter and urged them to keep working with Poseidon.

“We think it would be a benefit for you to authorize your staff to continue in this process,” said Karl Seckel, the district’s interim general manager.

“I would also like to say that our Board has not necessarily officially endorsed this project," Seckel said. “We think it should be considered. We don’t think it should be discounted.”

The letter was approved with a vote of 5-0.

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