San Diego to conclude negotiations on desal project

The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) has said that ongoing negotiations to build a desalination plant in coastal Carlsbad will soon be complete.

Poseidon Resources Corp will build the desalination plant and a pipeline, estimated to cost between $870m to $970m next to the Encina Power Station.

The plan to build the desalination plant, which will have a capacity to process 50 million gallons of sea water per day, was first proposed almost a decade ago.

Currently, a final draft water purchase agreement between the Water Authority and Poseidon is now being written, which calls for Poseidon to sell the water to the authority for 30 years.

SDCWA director of water resources Ken Weinberg was quoted by North County Times as saying that the due diligence efforts, including fixing the price of water, are in their final phases.

Public consultation on the project is slated in September while raft documents of bonds to finance the project have been prepared.
SDCWA supplies most of the water used in San Diego County.