State water board sets desalination permitting policy.

This should help untangle some of the red tape around seawater desalination plants.

Today, the State Water Resources Control Board amended the state's Ocean Plan to create a comprehensive policy for desal construction and operations. That's wonky, but also really important in drought-stricken California, where more and more coastal communities are looking at desalination as a potential drought-proof water supply.

Here in Monterey County, California American Water already operates one small desal plant in Sand City, and four more are proposed. One big desal plant would be the heart of Cal Am's Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project; DeepWater Desal and The People's Moss Landing Project are competing to build desal plants in Moss Landing; and Marina Coast Water District is pulling for its own plant to supply future developments on the former Fort Ord.

"The world will be watching because California tends to set the baseline for environmental protection that others follow," writes Hopkins Marine Station biologist Carol Reeb, who has studied the issue of brine discharge from desal plants. "This policy will be critical for ocean stewardship because seawater desalination seems likely to become the next new water solution for drought-stricken regions around the world."

The new policy—which came after years of study, expert feedback, public hearings and an external scientific peer review—states a preference for subsurface seawater intakes, Reeb adds, which Cal Am's Water Supply Project would use.

“Desalination is one of several tools communities can use in appropriate circumstances to gain greater water security,” Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus stated in a press release.

“This amendment will provide a consistent framework for communities and industry as they consider desalination, while protecting the coastal marine environment.”