WATER SUPPLY PLANNING COMMITTEE

ITEM:		DISCUSSION ITEMS
3.	UPDATE ON POTENTIAL FOR WATER PROJECT 3 (LOCAL DESAL) WITHIN DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
Meeting Date:			May 4, 2011	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Andrew Bell	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

U.S. Navy Site

Chair Bob Brower met on April 18, 2011 with U.S. Navy representatives regarding the potential for a seawater desalination plant on the former City of Monterey treatment plant site across Del Monte Avenue from the Naval Postgraduate School. District Engineer Andrew Bell contacted Commander Matt McCann, Public Works Officer for Navy facilities in the Monterey area, and offered to meet with him and to provide him additional information regarding the project.

Moss Landing Water Project

Brent Constantz, founder of the Calera Corporation, and other representatives of a proposed desalination project in Moss Landing now known as Deep Water Desal spoke during the Public Comment period of the April 6, 2011 Water Supply Planning Committee meeting. Dr. Constantz reported that the group is working on a collaboration with California State University representatives to locate the desal project’s seawater intake and brine disposal pipelines on a replacement pier proposed to be constructed leading offshore from Moss Landing. Dr. Constantz also reported that a number of plant sites have been investigated, and that a pilot plant is planned for a location on Sandholt Road in Moss Landing.

Pursuant to the Committee’s direction at the November 15, 2010 meeting, staff assembled questions regarding the proposal and sent the questions and the most recent version of the District’s matrix of water supply projects to David Armanasco, as representative of the project proponents, with a request that the project proponents provide responses to staff’s questions and provide information for the proposed project as listed in the matrix. The requested information has yet to be received.

City of Santa Cruz Water Department/Soquel Creek Water District Seawater Desalination Project

The City of Santa Cruz Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District are cooperating on a seawater desalination project that would serve both utilities. The proposed project, known as the scwd² Desalination Program would provide 2.5 million gallons per day of potable water.

District Engineer Andrew Bell contacted Heidi Luckenbach, a civil engineer with City of Santa Cruz Water Department and the Desalination Program Coordinator, to get an update on project investigations. Ms. Luckenbach reported that although some of the studies are in progress, various reports regarding the project are available online. For documents relating to the project, one may go to the City of Santa Cruz Water Department/Soquel Creek Water District website:

http://www.scwd2desal.org/

and under “Documents,” click on “Technical and Project Reports.”

The following are the technical reports available on the website.

Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination Pilot Test Program Report (April 2010)

Watershed Sanitary Survey (July 2010) – Executive Summary

Offshore Geophysical Report (August 2010) - Executive Summary

Dilution Analysis for Brine Disposal via Ocean Outfall (November 2010)

Open Ocean Intake Effects Study (December 2010)

Ms. Luckenbach also reported that a Draft EIR is underway and is expected to be issued in early 2012, with the Final EIR anticipated to be completed in early 2013.

EXHIBITS

None

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