Seawater Desalination in California: A Proposed Framework for Streamlining Permitting and Facilitating Implementation

Construction of new seawater reverse osmosis desalination (SWRO) plants in the state of California (USA) requires environmental permits containing rather strict conditions. The California Ocean Plan requires the use of subsurface intake systems (SSIs) unless they are deemed to be not feasible. The Governor of California requested that the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) study the issue of accelerating the desalination plant permitting process and making it more efficient. The State Board formed an independent scientific Panel to study the issue of SSI feasibility and to submit a report. The Panel recommendations included the following: the feasibility assessment (FA) for SSIs should be streamlined for completion within a maximum of three years, and this requirement should be added to the Ocean Plan; applicants need to perform a financial feasibility study before pursuing SSI capacities exceeding 38,000 m3/d (10 MGD) for wells or 100,000 m3/d (25 MGD) for galleries because project financing may be denied for such larger capacity systems; the mitigation options for each site–SSI combination in the screening process should be addressed by both the project proponent and regulatory agencies as early as practicable in the overall permitting process; and the impacts of SSIs on local aquifers and associated wetland systems must be assessed during the analyses conducted during the FA and during post-construction monitoring. The Panel further concluded that the design and evaluation of SSI–site combinations are highly site-specific, involving technically complex issues, which require both the applicant and the reviewing state agencies to have the expertise to design and review the applications. Economic feasibility must consider cost to the consumer and the engineering risk that can preclude project financing. Projected capacities exceeding the above noted limits may not by financed due to risks of failure or could require government guarantees to lenders. The current permitting system in California is likely to preclude construction of large seawater desalination facilities that can provide another source of potable water for coastal communities in California during severe droughts. Without seawater desalination, the potable water supply in California would suffer a greater sustainability and resilience risk during future periods of extended drought.