The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced funding for three desalination projects and six implementation/research projects.
“California faces a range of water supply challenges, and climate change continues to intensify shifts between weather extremes as we’ve seen this season,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “The state is exploring all opportunities to invest in innovative strategies like desalination to meet our growing water needs — including treating brackish water and ocean water where it’s environmentally appropriate on our 840 miles of coastline.”
Water Desalination Grant Program
Funding through DWR’s Water Desalination Grant Program is supporting three desalination projects. Funded by Proposition 1, the Water Desalination Grant Program supports construction and design of pilot projects that desalinate naturally occurring brackish and ocean water for potable water supply.
The program will award $5 million to three projects in Mendocino, Fresno and Los Angeles counties:
Water Replenishment District of Southern California Construction Project: In Los Angeles County, a project in the City of Torrance will construct a conveyance pipeline to connect an existing well to the existing Goldsworthy Desalter system and install a self-cleaning auto-strainer. The project will reduce the community’s reliance on imported water, provide a sustainable local potable water supply, and increase desalinated water production by 1,120-acre feet per year or approximately enough water for 2,200 households.
Westlands Water District Design Pilot Project: In Fresno County, the project will desalinate brackish groundwater from the westside upper aquifer and use salt-tolerant plants to remove salts from the brine. The project will provide cost-effective, reliable and high-quality water to the district and the communities of Coalinga, Huron and Avenal.
City of Fort Bragg Design Pilot Project: Near the City of Fort Bragg, the project will install an innovative, wave-powered, seawater desalination iceberg buoy to provide potable water to residents. The project will diversify the city’s water supply portfolio, create a locally controlled, sustainable, and carbon-free potable water supply, produce water without grid electricity, and strengthen water resiliency during future droughts.
To date, DWR has awarded over $82 million in Proposition 1 desalination grants ranging from over $100,000 to $10 million to support 20 projects. Three projects are currently under construction including the Antioch Brackish Water Desalination project, the City of Camarillo North Pleasant Valley Desalter project, and the City of Santa Monica Brackish Desalter Production Efficiency Enhancement project. Two of the projects will contribute toward the Governor’s goal to expand brackish groundwater desalination production by 28,000 acre-feet per year by 2030.
Additionally, three previously funded Water Desalination Grant Program projects have completed construction and are now in operation in the City of Torrance, which was previously funded by Proposition 50, the City of Santa Barbara, and the City of Avalon on Catalina Island. Together, the completed projects produce 8,787 acre-feet of potable water per year serving approximately 18,000 households.
The state has also convened the Desalination Interagency Group, comprised of representatives from partner agencies including the State Water Board, Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, Department of Fish and Wildlife, DWR, and others to develop siting criteria to streamline permitting of seawater desalination facilities.
The Desalination Interagency Group has identified criteria for siting seawater desalination facilities to facilitate approval under the existing desalination requirements, as well as recommendations for potential changes to the requirements to further streamline permitting. The Criteria for Siting Seawater Desalination Facilities to Streamline and Expedite Permitting document is expected to be completed and released by June 30, 2023.
Collaboration with the National Alliance for Water Innovation
In addition to providing support through the Water Desalination Grant program, DWR is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to support six projects that will pilot breakthrough technologies to reduce energy demand and costs for desalination projects. These six projects will receive cost share funding from DWR.
The selected pilot projects will treat water from a range of locations to produce a potable water supply. Some of the selected projects will directly partner with and benefit underserved communities and groups. The full list of projects can be viewed here.
“California’s water supplies are climate-vulnerable and it is urgent that we build resilience with tools such as desalination and water reuse. The selected pilot projects will help to augment California’s water supplies with non-traditional water sources such as brackish (or salty) water and wastewater,” said NAWI Executive Director Peter Fiske. “With the California Department of Water Resources as a partner, the NAWI pilot program will align national and international research questions with real people and real places — including producing water for those communities most in need.”
DWR previously contributed $16 million to NAWI in support of advancing desalination research in 2021. Led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, NAWI represents the largest federal investment in water treatment, desalination and water reuse since the 1960s.
In addition to energy efficiency, NAWI is seeking to address other key water supply issues impacting California — including brine management, low-cost, independent treatment unit development and oil field (produced) water treatment.
