Say No to Huntington Beach Desal Plant

Here is a copy of the letter we will send to your lawmakers:

Letter to California Coastal Commission:

Orange County families, community leaders, ocean conservation, and water experts are urging you to say NO to the proposed Brookfield-Poseidon Desalination Plant in Huntington Beach.

This $1.4 billion catastrophe-in-the-making is too expensive for Orange County families, destructive to our ocean and its wildlife, and harmful for our climate. We don’t need it!

Scientists and water experts agree that desalination should be our last resort to meet our water needs.

We oppose the Poseidon project because:

Orange County has cheaper, cleaner water options. Local solutions like water recycling, conservation, and cleaning up contaminated groundwater are far better alternatives to wasteful water projects like Poseidon at a fraction of the cost.

The Poseidon plant would increase water bills for Orange County families, hurting low-income and families of color, as well as coastal businesses like hotels and restaurants.

We need to protect California’s oceans and beaches. The Poseidon plant would kill ocean life, pollute our water with toxic chemicals like boron and chloride, and discharge a toxic soup of concentrated brine and other harmful chemicals into our coastal waters, creating an offshore “dead zone” in Huntington Beach.

The water is not needed. The Municipal Water District of Orange County has shown the Poseidon project is the least cost-effective and riskiest way to meet our future water needs. Orange County has many less costly, less risky, and more environmentally-friendly local sources of water.

Poseidon accelerates climate change. Desalination is the most energy-intensive way to produce fresh water and would generate more greenhouse gas emissions. The Poseidon plant’s location is also vulnerable to flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, and man-made disasters like offshore oil spills or radioactive waste spills.

We urge you to reject the proposed Poseidon desalination plant.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]