Drought and water shortage have plagued California’s citizens and farmers as crushing government regulations compound natural causes of the water deficit. Desalination plants planned up and down the California coast offer one part of the solution, and have now been recommended for swift approval in an Orange County “Grand Jury” report.
The Orange County Register reports: “The grand jury, composed of 19 Orange County residents, convened last July to study water availability and make recommendations as part of an annual review.” Jurors serve a term of one year and are selected through application, review by Superior Court judges, interview, background check and a lottery draw, according to the Jury’s website.
“Unfortunately, new, large infrastructure projects have significant implementation costs, difficult permitting issues, and are usually contentious and highly politicized,” the report reads, according to the Register, adding: “The report recommends that a committee representing both [Orange County] water districts to advocate for streamlining the permitting process similar to what has been done with nuclear power plants through the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”
A Municipal Water District of Orange County spokeswoman commented that the report made little difference to the water district as, “it doesn’t come with a checkbook” or “public support,” reported the Register.
California farmers have greatly struggled with the lack of water in the state. “This has been really sad. You know a lot of us lost everything that we have cause we haven’t had a single crop here in the last four or five years because all the drought and all the government regulations when they went and turned the pumps off in the delta,” said Hispanic farmer Piedad Ayala, owner of Ayala Farms in Fresno County, in a video supporting former gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly.
In the recent San Diego fires, reservoirs also provided one readily available source of water for firefighters to fight flames. However, that means there is now less water available to the community coming into dry summer months.
Environmentalists have highly criticized the state’s desalination plants, and have moved to prevent progress on building the proposed facilities. The Register notes that the Surfrider Foundation has unsuccessfully attempted to prevent plans for a plant in Carlsbad from going forward.
The Carlsbad plant is planned to be the largest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, according to the website for the plant. A report posted on the site states the $1 billion project is on track to start producing water in 2016.
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