The World Desalination Report published the following excerpted article in September 2021.

District Analyzes Costs With/Without Desal

At its September 2nd Board meeting, the South Coast Water District (SCWD) directors unanimously accepted an independent water cost analysis for its proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination Project. The report, which was prepared by project finance and municipal consultant Clean Energy Capital, compared the costs of building a SWRO project against a “no desal” option, and analyzed its impacts on ratepayers over the next 30 years under several scenarios.

SCWD currently receives about 90% of its potable water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) via the Colorado River and State Water Project. The reliance on imported water leaves the District — which has an emergency water storage of only 11 days — vulnerable if a catastrophic interruption were to occur along the five fault lines that cross MWD’s South Orange County water feeders.

The analysis also showed that the financial impacts of building a 2 MGD (7,570 m3/d) SWRO project with a slant well, subsurface intake, would increase the District’s required revenues by 2%, while a larger, 5 MGD (18,925 m3/d) project, in which the excess capacity would be sold to other South Orange County communities, would result in a 6% increase.

Although several communities have expressed interest in participating in the project, no purchase commitments have been made. It is expected that the financial analysis should provide information necessary to assist them in decision-making, and the SCWD staff was authorized to develop an information campaign to explain the costs and pursue partnerships with local agencies and/or water purveyors.

The Board also heard the results of a formal ratepayer survey conducted last year, in which 76% of the respondents said that they were willing to pay an additional $7 per month to build the project. The directors agreed to initiate a public outreach program supporting the implementation of the project.

Meanwhile, Hawkins, Delafield & Wood will be re-engaged to develop and solicit the necessary contract activities to implement the project. GHD is the program manager, with Kimley-Horn and Michael Baker International undertaking the environmental studies and permitting. MBC is responsible for marine ecology, and Katz & Associates for public outreach.

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Clean Energy Capital serves as Financial Advisor to South Coast Water District.