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PROPOSED NEW MONTEREY COUNTY DESALINATION PLANS

From the Monterey County Herald
Serving Monterey County and the Salinas Valley

Posted on Fri, Apr. 2, 2004

Water board drops plans for desal plant in Sand City
Moss Landing enterprise pursued by 2 companies

By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
vhennessey@montereyherald.com

It looks as if the Peninsula's water board is giving up on a proposed desalination plant in Sand City and looking instead to partner up with the growing numbers interested in desalination in Moss Landing.

After learning of severe limitations on output from the Sand City desalination plant, the Peninsula's water board signaled that it will seek a partnership with one or both of the entities poised to duke it out over a similar plant in Moss Landing.

At a work session on Wednesday, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District board members received the results of hydrogeologic tests that would affect the feasibility and size of a desalination plant in Sand City.

Basically, the consultants said, a drilling technique that would take water directly from the ocean wouldn't work in the coastal dune aquifer. And the technique that would draw water up through sand would provide up to about 9,000 acre-feet a year, well below what is needed to provide for growth and meet state-mandated reduction in dependence on Carmel River water.

And besides, board chairman Alvin Edwards told his fellow directors, he kind of likes the idea of good old-fashioned competition.

Last month, Monterey County officials hailed an agreement reached with California-American Water Co. to pursue a desalination plant in Moss Landing, only to find out a day later that a small North County water district had already signed a deal with the owner of the property considered the prime location for the plant.

The Pajaro-Sunny Mesa Community Services District is in the early stages of developing a desalination plant at the old National Refractories site next to the Duke Energy plant in Moss Landing. The abandoned site was purchased last year by Pacific Grove developer Nader Agha.

Agha said he reached an agreement with Sunny-Mesa after unsuccessful negotiations with Cal-Am.

Cal-Am and the county Water Resources Agency have reached an agreement to pursue a desalination plant but don't yet have a location. Agha's site had been considered the prime location, primarily because of existing pipes that can take water to and from the ocean.

The county is under state mandate to develop a new water source to reduce its dependence on the Carmel River, which is home to two threatened species, steelhead trout and red-legged frogs.

Cal-Am's intention was to create only enough water to meet that mandate, to hold back growth.

Edwards, the water management district's board chairman, said the board wants more water to allow for development of affordable housing and assumes the public is not willing to pay for two projects.

"We want to be partners with someone," he said. "We need more than 10,730 acre-feet (that Cal-Am has set as a goal) and we can't even get that out of Sand City."

Larry Foy, vice chairman of the board, said if someone else is willing to do the heavy lifting, he's ready to negotiate.

"My feeling is, we'll purchase the water," he said. "If it'll solve our problem, more power to them."

The board took no action on the issue but indicated by a 5-2 vote that it would favor waiting three to four months to let the dust settle and seek a partnership in Moss Landing.

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Virginia Hennessey can be reached at 753-6752.