Treating Brackish Water Sparks Controversy In California

A drought-ridden town in California is installing a water treatment plant designed to stretch its shrinking supply, but the idea has sparked controversy — and a lawsuit — within the local community.

The facility in Cambria will treat brackish water, including treated wastewater effluent, to replenish the town's wells, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The facility "is designed to treat a blend of salt, fresh and brackish water and some treated wastewater. The treated water will be injected back into the ground near the district’s well-field production wells," The Cambrian reported.

The plant is being built under an emergency permit approved by the county. But "the goal is to make it permanently available during drought years when the wells fed by San Simeon and Santa Rosa creeks run dangerously low," the Los Angeles Times reported.

The downside? For one, water rates are likely to rise significantly.

In addition, "critics say the $9.13-million water treatment plant will damage the delicate ecosystem, particularly San Simeon Creek lagoon, and burden ratepayers for years. They say there never really was a drought emergency because of successful conservation measures, and some liken the plant to a land grab to spur future growth," the report said.

Opponents are pushing back in the courts, citing botched procedures.

"On Oct. 14, an environmental group called LandWatch San Luis Obispo and Stanford Law School's Environmental Law Clinic filed a lawsuit alleging the Community Services District violated state laws by rushing the plant through the permit process," the report said.

District officials deny these claims.

"This is a preposterous position given the undeniable reality of the water crisis Cambria is facing," officials said in a statement, per the report. "The fact that Cambria is in an unprecedented emergency has been recognized by every level of government in the permitting process."

Despite the controversy, the facility is moving ahead as planned.

"Officials with the Cambria Community Services District plan to flip the switch [in November] on a $9 million desalination plant that will provide the community with a desperately needed new supply of drinking water," The Cambrian reported in a later piece.