Doheny Desalination: South Coast Water District Signaling Desperation?

If the Doheny Desalination Project (DDP) is soooooo perfect, why did those 5 original partners drop out 8 years ago, have yet to return in spite of being shamelessly begged by SCWD ever since?

Shouldn't mainstream media (MSM) be more curious, skeptical, ask "Why is that?" Poll known opposition as part of their due diligence, homework, to better and more fully inform themselves (producing subsequently incisive columns) and the public?

Has anyone reading this column EVER done a deep dive, an independent and objective post-mortem that explored and transparently explained why the agency that launched and led the working group (Municipal Water District of OC-MWDOC), that drilled and monitored the experimental technology, responsible for that one ocean slant well pilot/demo, "Banged a U-ey," did a "180," summarily left the fold?

Moulton Niguel Water District, MWDOC and the cities of San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, and Laguna Beach abandoned ship contemporaneously, wasn't that a red flag? Were they rats leaving a sinking ship because they sensed eventual disaster or?

In spite of SCWD's PR flack emergency approach ("OMG, the big earthquake's coming! SOC? We're your saviors!"), trying to leverage both the prolonged drought and the sinking of The Poseidon Adventure (The veritable Titanic of ocean desalination endeavors) in Huntington Beach, those original 5 have yet to re-commit to a formal business relationship.

SCWD keeps repeating itself lately, using vague language that's carefully worded and joyously, deliriously hopeful: "Oh, we've got a lot of outreach from public agencies coming our way, a lot of interested suitors."

At least that's what they claim, also unchallenged by MSM, taking them at their PR flack word apparently. Why no follow-up, or follow-thru:"OK, where's the beef, where and when will they come aboard?" If quoted, officials from said agencies side-step, use pro forma, bureaucratic "We're exploring our options" verbiage.

The earthquake scenario is especially amusing: Many engineers doubt that there'll be nearly enough grid power to run a multi-million gallon/day production plant. Tough governmental energy priority and distribution decisions will become contentious.

Kinda weird, when you're down to using fear as a motivational tool to basically herd, drive 'em like cattle, shove frightened humans into your corral, isn't it?

Hysteria as a form of control.

If built out to the capacity that SCWD alleges is possible, provide/distribute per contractually binding sustainable, survival-level drinking water to regional SOC residents post apocalyptic event, they'd probably need to fill the rest of the adjacent acreage they own (20 acres) with noisy, air polluting generators. That area is a natural amphitheater, and if no sea breeze, it'd resemble LA smog in the 60s.

Parking and vehicular circulation for rapid-response maintenance onsite would be a lot of laughs too, and once again, other than SCWD, who has independently peer-reviewed and agreed that they could be self-sufficient, energy-wise, indefinitely?

Other than the columns in PATCH and Voice of OC, under the watchdog banner of my eco-NGO, Clean Water Now (CWN), it seems that MSM has basically taken a liking to SCWD's branded kool-aid. Most articles read like colloborative, word-smithed SCWD press releases. Shouldn't they be publishing unbiased, point/counter-point information about it?

This is an egregious disservice, a glaring transparency omission. Doesn't the public, especially if a SCWD ratepayer or customer of a potential utility partner, have the right to be kept apprised instead of clueless?

As for readily available, quicker, cheaper H2O supplies, please be patient, read at least these 2 of my columns. There's a more viable alternative, then you'll get a glimpse and have that "Devil's Advocate" perspective MIA from media right now.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/...

https://www.lagunabeachindy.co...

The arguably brightest, most innovative and progressive in the non-political, original sense of the word, Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) is the largest water/wastewater utility in SOC and 2nd largest in all off the OC. Tracking their meetings, it seems there's lukewarm interest probably due to numerous unanswered, direct questions, plus a laundry list of reservations.

SMWD doesn't just believe in new ideas and the attendant technologies, they pursue opportunities. So if they're hesitant, could be SCWD's largest customer and/or major partner, why aren't MSM digging deeper, more suspicious?

Implementing the classic passive/aggressive,"Slow-Roll" or do/say nothing ("No Roll") tactics that SCWD exhibits when cornered or pressed, many regional utilities have given up pressing for response or progression. And Term Sheets by proponents (which SCWD did like Poseidon before it) are often subject to "voodoo math," cooked books allegations abound unless peer reviewed by 100% objective, disinterested 3rd party analysts.

As the NGO rep that has the highest attendance record at SOC desalination-related hearings, I feel frustrated because MSM miss about 95% of the show but project fallacious literacy to readers on the topic.

The cautious caveat "That depends" is what I've often heard uttered by other public agency staffs and boards while monitoring meetings, and those 2 words seem to capture 2 basic engineering concepts: What's achievable, realistic, not pollyanna projections about a never fully-operational, advanced ocean extraction technology treatment train and delivery system.

Where are all of the NGOs like Surfrider and CoastKeeper, whose public policy for years claimed that the recycling of existing wastewater excesses from treatment plants should be option #1, given top priority, that ocean desalination should be a last choice?

Just because SCWD wants to use less ecologically destructive sub-surface intakes shouldn't equal an across-the-board, one-off, free ride hall pass. NGOs seem to have failed to provide the type of 3rd party, intense watchdog scrutiny that The Poseidon Adventure got.

There have been pilot slant wells drilled from land out into the Pacific, but none in a multi-extraction array, none with a long track record of stable, sustainable reliability--especially at the level that SCWD's states, that it can be expanded, that they could ramp easily up to 15 million gallons/day (mgd) production. That would pull, sub-surface, 30 mgd from a few hundred meters off of Doheny State Beach.

FYI to newbies, it takes 2 gallons of seawater to produce 1 gallon of drinking water (not a very stellar ratio, btw). The other gallon is briny refuse, meanwhile, its become about 2-3 times as saline as the original seawater extracted (more concentrated, i.e., "hyper-saline")......oh, and the pesky gamut of other toxic chemicals used in the process are then also discharged back into the ocean. Funny, ever read a MSM column on those unidentified "other chemicals?"

Presently being peddled in the 3-5 mgd range version, the DDP timeline has been acknowledged to take ≈ 5 years or more to get permitting and built, another 3-4 years to work out the bugs, i.e., identify and rectify minor problems and defects of the system. That's 2030 or so. If they're lucky. And when do projects like this ever go off without a hitch or glitch, hmmm?

The public mostly trusts and believes MSM, so IMO these so-called news outlets covering the project are derelict and shirking their 4th Estate duties. I track SCWD Board meetings plus others they participate in as JPA members (SOC Wastewater Authority & San Juan Basin Authority), and MSM just don't bother to drop in.

I can't count how many times in the past 5 years, like a needy, lonely person in a bar at 2 am closing time, SCWD has fervently beseeched on bended knee for help, implored assistance and a desalination "life partner, significant other"---and gone home forlorn, alone, no takers. Ever read about that embarrassment in the media?

Practically mailing in SCWD-friendly columns, one startling aspect has emerged: Investigative journalism MUST be dead, because reporters seem to have ignored local opposition. I mean, c'mon, 20 years into this journey and no one seems eager to get on board? Isn't that, in and of itself, controversial?

My NGO's never been mute or reticent about openly criticizing this proposal in depth, failed to enumerate and directly confront its ignored or arcane flaws in many venues. Does ad revenue and ingratiating journalism preclude independent analyses, circumvent critical thinking, make MSM risk adverse?

Here's a sample of a recently published column, do you see impartiality? This isn't unusual for the DDP, there's no real balanced reporting, no discussion of contrasting points of view: https://www.danapointtimes.com...

Notice that the Dana Point Times features several interviews, one with SCWD's General Manager, gee, gosh, I bet he's objective. And those 2 SCWD vendors, whose corporations have made $$$ millions and are positioned to make more----could you possibly quote 2 more highly prejudiced, servile sources and not expect lavish, rousing praise?

In early September of 2021, the President of SCWD, Rick Erkeneff, drew a line in the sand, categorically, emphatically stated that by its first BOD meeting in May of 2022: The public could rely upon them, the District would announce whether it would have partners or go it alone.

Well, Mr. President, we're waiting, you're 3 months past that binary "Go/No Go" declaration. You proclaimed the boundary, event horizon conditions, so what's the holdup? How's that "really, really slow-roll" ethic working for ya, huh?