San Diego County Water Authority to sign water agreement with Poseidon Resources

The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) in the US is set to sign a 30-year water purchase agreement (WPA) with Poseidon Resources to buy drinking water from the under-construction Carlsbad desalination plant in California, US.

Under the terms of the agreement, SDCWA will have to purchase a minimum of 48,000 and up to 56,000 acre feet of water annually from the plant, with a yearly $115m payment or $3.5bn for the initial 30 years.

SDCWA will also have to buy water under all circumstances and in all weather conditions as the desalination plant will not be closed in the wettest years.

The initial cost of the plant in 2009 was expected to be $250m but in three years time it has tripled to $780m, and with the additional required pipeline construction the desalination facility is anticipated to cost over $1bn.

Though the SDCWA has not yet given the final cost an end user may have to pay, environmentalists suggest the water bills will see a rise of 8% to 11% because of the increasing construction cost of the plant.

US Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation legal director Marco Gonzalez said the project will put the ratepayers’ money at risk.

"At some point, the public needs to step up and educate itself on the potential long-term financial implications of this project," Gonzalez said.

"Poseidon is known for promising a lot, and then coming up with excuses when it fails to deliver.

"At the very least, the fact that the cost of this project has tripled since it was first proposed should cause red lights and sirens to go off."

The desalination project will treat sea water into drinkable water.

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Image: A water body which provides minimum annual flow to California. Photo: courtesy of A-giâu.