FINAL REPORT Evaluation of Seawater Desalination Projects ...

EVALUATION OF SEAWATER DESALINATION PROJECTS
PROPOSED FOR THE MONTEREY PENINSULA
pipelines between Moss Landing and the Monterey Peninsula to allow for future increased
deliveries to the Monterey Peninsula.
The CWP and the Monterey Bay Regional Seawater Desalination Project would each provide
water to the CAW customer base on the Monterey Peninsula, and, for practical purposes, are
mutually exclusive.
If the CWP conveyance pipelines are not upsized as part of the initial project, it will be
significantly more expensive to provide incremental capacity to meet future demands on the
Peninsula.
There are no disadvantaged communities 48 in the project service area.
6.2 Monterey Bay Regional Seawater Desalination Project
(MBRSDP)
The Monterey Bay Regional Seawater Desalination Project (MBRSDP) is envisioned as a
regional project, supplying water to the Monterey Peninsula and a large portion of northern
Monterey County. Water from the project would be delivered to customers within the
Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District (P/SMCSD) current service area and
recently acquired service territories (e.g., Moss Landing), but no other entity has contracted
for a supply from the MBRSDP. Contemplated major distribution systems serving areas
north, east, and south of the National Refractories treatment plant site could be incrementally
added in the future.
The MBRSDP and the CWP share the major customer base on the Monterey Peninsula, and,
for practical purposes, are mutually exclusive. That is, only one of these projects would
likely be built. The August 5, 2005, Development and Management Agreement between
Poseidon Resources and P/SMCSD contains the following provision: “The Parties
acknowledge that it is the intention of the Parties to reach an agreement with the California-
American Water Company, or its successor in interest, in order to facilitate the development
of a single desalination facility in the Moss Landing area.” It is not clear whether the
MBRSDP would be viable without the CAW customer base.
The larger contemplated projects could have beneficial water quality impacts to
disadvantaged communities in northern Monterey County.
48 The State of California defines a disadvantaged community as one where the median household income is
less than 80 percent of the statewide average.
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District 6-2