 |
| Volume 13, No. 24 June 09, 2004 |
| Highlight story from the current issue of WaterWeek |
San Diego eyes desalination for long-term water needs
San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) directors in late May voted unanimously to accept a report from the general managers of SDCWA's 23 member agencies that recommends seawater desalination as the major component of a nearly $2 billion master plan for meeting the county's long-term water needs. In the report presented to SDCWA directors in late May, a rate-impact review panel found the seawater desalination option to offer "the potential to be more reliable" than a new pipeline to import more water from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California. They further found that the estimated impact on SDCWA rates and charges "is not significantly different between the two options and remains relatively unchanged over the long-term." In addition to pursuing the desalination option, the panel recommended building a new regional 50-mgd water treatment plant and expanding storage capacity for drought protection. The panel's preferred plan cautions, however, that if by mid-2006 the SDCWA determines that desalination cannot be implemented in time to meet projected demand, directors instead rely on the MWD option and build the necessary pipeline by 2015. The panel rejected a third option, a new pipeline to import more Colorado River water, as "significantly more costly and less reliable" than the desalination and MWD options. Upon accepting the panel's report, SDCWA directors, who had earlier selected seawater desalination as their preferred option to meet long-term needs, requested staff to prepare a long-range financing plan to fund the master plan projects. "Seawater desalination will play a central role in diversifying and improving the reliability of our region's water supply and will represent the biggest commitment to seawater desalination anywhere in the United States," said Board Chairman Bernie Rhinerson. In a related development, a new two-day AWWA training seminar on desalination will cover everything from treatment options for seawater and brackish water to cost and regulatory concerns. Sessions are currently scheduled to be held July 19-20 in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Sept. 8-9 in Escondido, Calif. Designed for utility managers, engineers, consultants and manufacturers, the seminar will cover the various membrane treatment options for desalting, with detailed analyses of unit processes from intake through effluent production and waste discharge and regulatory concerns, and includes a site visit. Cost and regulatory issues to be covered include permits, disinfection by-products, handling concentrate discharges and how key cost parameters affect overall cost. The seminar also features a tour of a reverse osmosis treatment plant.
|
If you wish to comment on WaterWeek or its contents, contact the Editor, Mark Scharfenaker, by phone at (303) 347-6263; or by e-mail at mscharfe@awwa.org; or by mail at WaterWeek, 6666 W. Quincy Ave., Denver, CO 80235. You may also contact the Associate Editor, Carol Carpenter, at (303) 347-6297; by fax at (303) 794-7310; or by e-mail at ccarpenter@awwa.org.
|
|
