Carlsbad’s desalination plant, which provides 10 percent of San Diego County’s drinking water, will get $19.4 million for the construction of its new seawater intakes as part of $142 million in federal grants for water projects throughout the West.
Construction of the new facilities began in January 2023 at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, a spokesperson for the San Diego County Water Authority said Friday. The new intake screens will be placed in operation this fall, and the full project should be finished in early 2025.
The improvements are intended to better protect wildlife, the environment and the plant by rerouting trash from the water stream to a sorting area where it can be removed. The new intakes also have bars to prevent marine mammals from getting close to the screens and a floating boom to stop floating debris.
The desalination plant began operating in 2015. It pulls ocean water from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon through intakes formerly used by the cooling system at the now demolished Encina power plant, built by San Diego Gas & Electric Co. in the 1950s. The old power plant was replaced by a more efficient one that does not use seawater for cooling.
Also in the grants announced by the Department of the Interior is $5.3 million to increase the capacity of Oceanside’s Mission Basin groundwater purification facility, which filters brackish water drawn from wells in the basin.
Both the Oceanside and Carlsbad projects are intended to reduce the region’s reliance on imported water, most of which is delivered by aqueducts from Northern California and the Colorado River.
“I am thrilled that our region will receive this critical funding to support our water infrastructure,” said Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, in an announcement of the grants. His congressional district includes all of coastal North County.
“In the face of threats from climate change, these projects are essential for ensuring a sustainable and resilient water supply for our communities,” Levin said. “By investing in innovative solutions like groundwater purification and desalination, we are taking significant steps toward protecting our water resources for future generations.”