Poseidon’s proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Facility shows how vitally important new water projects can be stopped by regulators even if they are needed and have broad support.

The facility would have provided 50 million gallons of water per day, would have been built at no cost to taxpayers, and would have used and repurposed existing infrastructure to contain costs.  For more than 20 years, Poseidon enjoyed strong public backing as it struggled to secure the many approvals it needed to move forward, fought by vocal and well-funded opponents at each turn. Even though Poseidon addressed all reasonable environmental concerns and secured multiple regulatory approvals, the California Coastal Commission refused to allow the much-needed water supply solution to move forward.

We hope to see a new plan for the Huntington Beach Desalination Facility that addresses the concerns of the Coastal Commission – or that the Commission will rightly start giving greater weight to the terrible societal and economic harm caused by water shortages. We stand ready to support this much-needed new water supply project, should a new plan come forward.