EIR for desal project approved
An ocean water desalination project that has been opposed by all three Beach Cities moved closer to reality Monday when the regional water district voted to approve key planning documents for the project. The West Basin Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors voted 4-1 to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report for a desalination plant proposed on the coast just north of Manhattan Beach’s border with El Segundo. Board member Carol Kwan, who represents the Beach Cities, was the lone no vote. Ocean water desalination, in which salt and other compounds would be removed from water in the Pacific and introduced into the water supply for drinking and other potential uses, could have numerous potential benefits, West Basin said, including “reducing reliance on imported water, improving water security through increased local control of water supplies,” and “improving climate resiliency” by providing a water source that is not dependent on the shifting volume of rain and snow that arrives each year. Opponents, however, have said that the project poses significant environmental issues. The desalination process is energy-intensive, even more so than carrying imported water…
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