CALL FOR OCEAN PROTECTIONS
As you may know, there are currently about 20 proposals to build
ocean desalination facilities along the California coast. The
environmental community has been tracking and providing feedback
to several California government agencies about ocean
desalination to ensure that these are designed and located to
avoid environmental damage.
These ocean desalination projects are extremely energy-intensive
and can potentially undermine California’s efforts to reduce our
greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the ocean water intakes
for these facilities can suck up and kill marine life -
significantly affecting healthy marine life populations and
healthy oceans.
The good news is that several agencies are successfully testing
alternative intake designs that eliminate marine life deaths and
filtration systems that reduce energy demand for desal. The bad
news is that the largest ocean desalination facility proposed in
the western hemisphere is before the Coastal Commission and
State Lands Commission for approval this month. This facility is
not employing the best available design and technology to
protect our coast and ocean.
Tell the Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission you
insist that this facility fully mitigate the adverse impacts it
will cause.
Please link here to send a letter.
Thank you,
Joe Geever
CA Policy Coordinator
Surfrider Foundation
