Project Objectives

This project will serve enough water for 8% of OC's population.

The Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Project will provide Orange County with 8% of its water supply.
The proposed seawater desalination facility will use proven technology to provide a new and reliable source of drinking water, at a competitive rate without significant impact to the environment.

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Need for Desalinated Water

• More than fifty percent of Orange County’s water (and more than ninety percent of South Orange County’s water) is imported from the Delta and Colorado River
  • Availability of water from the Delta and Colorado River has been reduced significantly over the past few years due to environmental demands, drought and other competing interests such as agriculture
• Orange County is expected to grow by about 500,000 people by 2020
• The Orange County groundwater basin is overdrafted by more than 100 billion gallons

Water Production

• 50-million-gallon-per-day (50 MGD) seawater desalination facility
  • Approximately eight percent of Orange County’s water supply
• 56,000 acre-feet of water per year
  • Enough water for 300,000 Orange County residents
• Water produced exclusively for Orange County

Water Quality

• Uses the same reverse osmosis process that is used to purify bottled water
• This state-of-the-art process has been approved by the California Department of Health Services
• Removes not only salts, but all impurities from the seawater so only water molecules remain
• Higher purity than Orange County’s imported water supply