San Juan May Opt Out of Plan to Turn Sea Water into Drinking Water

After nearly four years of paying into a multi-agency project to turn sea water into drinking water, San Juan Capistrano leaders may decide to opt out.

So far, the city has put in $662,961 into the project, which is now expected to cost $200 million to construct. The desalination plant, originally estimated to cost $136 million, is planned for Dana Point near where San Juan Creek flows into the Pacific Ocean.

But with the city running a $5.3 million deficit in its water operations, San Juan Capistrano's participating in the long-term project looks shaky.

Four other agencies, including  the , the , the city o and the , have been in on the project since its beginnings in 2008. The Municipal Water District of Orange County has been managing it.

Karl Seckel, assistant general manager with the county agency, is asking the member agencies to fund one more year of study before they get to a “go/no-go” decision next year. The cost for the city of San Juan: $23,000.

“The city’s Water Fund is in a deficit position, and staff cannot recommend that the City Council financially participate in” the project participation committee, wrote Utilities Director Keith Van Der Maaten in a report to City Manager Karen Brust.

The council will take the matter up at tonight's meeting.

Should the city decide to bow out now, it loses the right to participate in any future project if the other agencies decide to move forward with the desalination plant, according to a letter Seckel wrote the City Council.

The other agencies or even a new agency can purchase the city’s entitlement to the project without paying interest, he wrote. If no one does, then the city would not be reimbursed for its previous financial involvement in the project.

The other agencies would then have to pick up the slack for this year’s funding of the study, with their payments increasing to $28,000 apiece, Seckel wrote.

While the project’s backers would be mindful of any impacts a desalination plant would have on the groundwater table – certainly a concern in light of the San Juan's , continuing the funding for the project allows San Juan Capistrano officials to participate in any decision-making, Seckel wrote.

“The $23,000 investment maintains the city’s seat at the table,” he wrote. “The idea that this project could provide a further diversification of the city’s water resources is an idea that should be considered. We believe the city’s participation in this final year can be justified at a cost of $23,000.”

Among the reasons the study portion of the project has been delayed 1 ½ years are:

• Contamination from gas station leaks
• A 3 ½-month shut down after the December 2010 rains
• An unexpected discovery of elevated levels of iron and manganese in formations under the ocean

The City Council will consider the item at tonight's meeting, which begins at 6 at , 32400 Paseo Adelanto in San Juan Capistrano.