Coastal Commission 11-0:
Poseidon is ‘wrong project, in wrong place, at wrong time’
A grassroots victory for project opponents over $6.5.b Brookfield/Poseidon and allies.
How did it happen and what is ocean desal’s future in California?
by John “Surf City Voice” Earl, May 23, 2022; cross-posted from SoCal Water Wars:
The California Coastal Commission officially shut down the long-running Huntington Beach (Orange County) based Poseidon Water desalination carnival by an 11-0 vote on May 12, 2022.
The Commission’s executive director Jack Ainsworth summed up the reasons for his staff’s recommendation of denial for the $1.4 billion desalination project:
“First of all, I think we all agree and recognize that the ongoing historic drought is a crisis in California and that desalinization facilities will be part of California’s future water portfolio. Unfortunately, the desalinization project before you today is the wrong project in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Ainsworth detailed the following reasons for ending the Poseidon project (his summation can be viewed in full in the video excerpt below:
- Predicted sea-level rise surrounding the Poseidon site (including critical infrastructure) “will be flooded by increased or more intensive storms or inundated eventually by sea-level rise or rising groundwater” due to global warming.
- The lack of a coherent and adequate mitigation for the project’s severe effects on local marine life.
- Measures to build the plant will likely result in impacts upon the surrounding area that haven’t been analyzed.
- Environmental justice issues: Costs to upgrade the plant will be substantial and will be passed on to ratepayers, “many of whom referred to today are low income and cannot afford such exorbitant water rates.”
- Ocean desalination sites in the state “should be prioritized based on the critical need of the new water supplies for a particular area. In addition, all other less environmentally damaging and less expensive water supply alternatives should be explored first, or at least concurrently with desal alternatives.”
- “Feasible and appropriate mitigation must be required consistent with the law. In my view, this project fails to meet that standard and is a bridge too far and therefore should be denied.”
Eleven commissioners were persuaded by the staff report and voted 11-0 against the project. Thus, Poseidon Water’s desal dream for Huntington Beach is dead after 20 years of lobbying, hearings, and organized opposition, but not ocean desalination itself.
It was a long running show that I played a part in, first briefly as an activist and the first president of Residents for Responsible Desal (R4RD)and then as a journalist since 2006.Subscribe
That experience, which included attending hundreds of water board meetings related directly to the Poseidon project, as well as attending organizing meetings held by the grassroots citizens whose sustained heart-felt efforts finally led to Poseidon’s defeat, is unique among journalists.
Starting June 6, I will give my personal insights into how and why that grassroots victory took place on May 12 and its implications for water management in the future, including ocean desalination.
This will continue my series “Poseidon Town” (which will form the basis of my book by the same name) on a regular basis for paid subscribers.
All other water-news features will be available to all subscribers (free or paid) for the foreseeable future.
Finally, I will be on “vacation” until June 6 when regular publication will resume.
Yours truly,
John Earl
Now Click Here to Watch the Historic Final Vote on OC Water Wars!
(“Soaky” figure designed and commissioned by Gus Ayer shortly before his death.)
Just SOME of the Orange Juice Blog’s Previous Coverage of Poseidon:
(and there are even older pieces, by Gus “Mayor Quimby” Ayer and Sandy “La Femme Wonkita” Genis…)
- HB Council Respectfully Asks Coastal Commission to Shitcan Poseidon. (July 2013)
- Poseidon Runs Headlong into Infiltration Gallery (report on Nov 2013 Coastal Commission hearing)
- Poseidon’s Water Boy: Matt Harper Quietly Pushes Desal Scam Past Ratepayers. (May 2014)
- OCWD’s Sheldon Clams Up on Poseidon Vote, Flory Shakes Things Up! (June 2014)
- Who owns the OCWD, you or Poseidon? YOU DO! Remind them, tonight! (June 2014)
- Unpacking Poseidon’s Latest Propaganda Blitz with Debbie Cook. Pt 1: The CNN Puff Piece. (June 2014)
- Recent Poseidon-Probolsky Push-Poll Threatens Candidates and Misleads Voters. (Nov. 2014)
- Sheldon’s Unethical Culture Challenged by Legal Complaint (Dec. 2014)
- Poseidon & OCWD Bring their Snake-Oil Show to the Pumpers Tomorrow (Dec. 2014)
- Surfin’ Sheldon, Little Lost Dina, Righteous Flory – What You’ve Been Missing at OCWD! (Jan. 2015)
- Poseidon Update: OCWD “just sticks the tip in…” (Jan. 2015)
- Sheldon Says “Suck it Surf City!” The Poseidon Shill is also Behind our High Density Development. (Feb. 2015)
- OCWD’s Forecast for the Future: Cloudy with a Huge Chance of Error. (March 2015)
- Pat Bates Baits Us with Bogus Doomsday Drought Scenario. (March 2015)
- Swan Song for Poseidon? A Blast of Truth from Irvine’s Peer Swan. (March 2015)
- Cage Rattled Hard, OCWD Dons Fig Leaf Before Marrying Poseidon. (April 2015)
- Our Celebrated Groundwater Replenishment System Steals Poseidon’s Lunch Money. (April 2015)
- OCWD profile #1: Phil Anthony, the Quiet Skeptic. (April 2015)
- Showdown at the OCWD Corral Nears, R4RD launches Volley. (May 2015)
- The Poseidon Adventure Sails On! (May 2015)
- Dina Nguyen Stands Up Garden Grove, Skips Fascinating Poseidon Forum. (May 2015)
- Will OCWD be Shipwrecked by Mermaids? (June 2015)
- Cathy Green Falsely Carries Poseidon Water to Coastal Commission (June 2015)
- Watch Poseidon Joke over Proposed Property Tax Increase to fund their “Privately Funded” Desal Project. (July 2015)
- Bao Stands for Garden Grove Against Poseidon, the rest of Council Waffles. (July 2015)
- Phan is the Man – who Stopped this and Needs to Start it Again! (July 2015)
- OC Can Do Desal Better – Use Salt to Lock Up CO2 Emissions. (August 2015)
- San Diego Has Too Much Water – but is Paying $1 Billion for Their Poseidon Plant. (Dec. 2015)
- Poseidon Progress Report: Eight Ways to Screw the Public. (Feb. 2016)
- Why the Coastal Commission Will Approve Poseidon. (April 2016)
- Poseidon in denial over the obstacles ahead, and more… (May 2016)
- Dispatches from the Battle Against Poseidon, Summer 2016 (July 2016)
- Poseidon Plays the Race Card, LULAC Dances to their Tune. (July 2016)
- Fullerton Reaches its Day of Decision on Poseidon (Jan. 2017)
- OCWD Tonight: Replenish the Aquifer with the Winter’s Fabulous Snows! (April 2017)
- John Earl: The Ideological War Behind Poseidon. (August 2017)
- How Stoopid Does Poseidon Think This County is Anyway? (Jan. 2018)
- OCWD Blocks Study of Alternatives to Poseidon, Misleading Coastal Commission. (Feb. 2018)
- Poseidon-Obsessed OCWD will Try to Ram Billion-Dollar Desal Project Down Our Throats. (June 2018)
- Excellent Comments for Poseidon Term-Sheet Meeting: Hamilton, Everts, Moshiri, Hiemstra (June 2018)
- Climate Change could Swamp Billion-Dollar Desal Deal (June 2018)
- Top Three Reasons Poseidon’s New Term Sheet SHOULD Have Been Rejected July 18 (July 2018)
- Important Poseidon Updates – Video of Wednesday’s meeting, and who’s running for OCWD? (July 2018)
- Poseidon’s Voodoo Math; and Klepto Kris Murray named to powerful Water Board (December 2018)
- Let’s put Poseidon out of its misery this year: Latest reports from the Front Line. (February 2019)
- New OCWD Director Kelly Rowe’s ALTERNATIVE to Poseidon. (August 2019)
- Poseidon’s Failing Report Card in Carlsbad (October 2019)
- Indigenous People’s Day and Tuesday’s Desal Townhall: Poseidon as Columbus. (October 2019)
- Transformation Complete: OC Water District now “Poseidon Water District of OC.” (Dec. 2019)
- Poseidon’s “Reliability” Promise: Pay More, Get the Same! (July 2020)
- Karl Seckel for MWDOC! (Nov. 2020)
- Elect 2020’s Water Patriots: Elliot, Moulton-Patterson, Seckel, Yoo Schneider, Beard & Ereth! (Nov. 2020)
- Poseidon’s Latest Corporate Welfare Demand (Jan. 2021)
- Why OCWD pays CalDesal $5000 a Year, and a Very Good Brown Act Question. (Jan. 2021)
- Gov. Newsom: Stop Shoving Poseidon Down OC’s Throat! (April 2021)
- THE POSEIDON WHORES. (April 2021)
- Surf City Voice: Poseidon Town Through the Wormhole. (May 2021)
- Poseidon Town: The Beginning. (May 2021)
- POSEIDON: THE GREENWASHING. (July 2021)
- Poseidon’s Co-optation of Latino and Labor Groups (August 2021)
- Dem Club of West OC Skewers Poseidon (Nov 2021)
- Cal Enviro Laws Weakened by Fluid Interpretations, Money & Politics (Jan 2022)
- Against the “More Water Now” Initiative: An Interview with Conner Everts (Jan 2022)
- Debbie Cook: What You’ve Been Missing at your Local Water Board Meetings (March 2022)
- Coastal Commission Staff Report Smacks Down Poseidon Plan (April 2022)
- Poseidon Picks a Public Poisoning Apologist! (April 2022)
- Poseidon’s Poisonous Pollution Plan: Airborne Toxins over HB! (May 2022)
- NOT “Reasonable Use” – Poseidon/OCWD Desal Plan is Unconstitutional. (May 2022)
- Coastal Commission Unanimously Rejects Poseidon Plan! (May 2022)
Leave a Reply