Santa Barbara To Reopen Old Desalination Plant

As the California drought drags on, one city is more prepared than the others to start desalinating water.

Santa Barbara opened a desalination plant in the early '90s, but it was shuttered after years of healthy rainfall.

In September, the Santa Barbara City Council "voted unanimously to back a plan to submit permits and to collect construction bids that would pave the way to restarting the plant by the summer of 2016," KEYT reported.

But the effort could be costly for locals.

"The city would pass on the cost to water users by as much as $14 to $20 on the average monthly bill," the report said.

There are other concerns about desalination, as well.

The city council has "also considered studying ways to prevent the intake area from harming marine life," the report said. "The current plan calls for putting a new pipe inside an existing pipe near Stearns Wharf. Environmentalists suggest putting the intake pipe under the sand."

The plant, known as the Charles E. Meyer Desalination Facility, "was completed in March 1992, and put into long-term standby mode in 1997," according to the Santa Barbara View.

"With sufficient freshwater supplies, the desal plant was placed in standby mode in 1994, and since then, some of its equipment has been sold off. As we enter year four of a historic drought  —  a phenomenon likely to recur in the age of global warming  —  freshwater supplies dwindle, and the water market grows fierce, the plant could be Santa Barbara’s savior," the Santa Barbara Independent reported.

The plant is already undergoing tests.

"As required by the State Water Resources Control Board, a 12-month source-water sampling program near the Desal Facility’s intake began in July 2014. The water sampling information will be used to confirm that the proposed Desal Facility will provide sufficient treatment in compliance with all State Drinking Water Regulations," the Santa Barbara View reported.

Check out Water Online's Desalination Solution Center.