Desalination plant gets nod
Santa Barbara OKs $55 million to bring mothballed facility back online by 2016.
Santa Barbara City Council members have unanimously approved spending $55 million to reactivate a mothballed desalination plant that could provide the city with nearly a third of its drinking water.
The Charles E. Meyer Desalination Facility was built during a drought in the 1990s but closed in 1992 when desperation for water subsided. The plant was never in use beyond a testing period, but the city maintained it in the event that a severe water shortage might once again arise.
“Desalination has been a last resort,” Mayor Helene Schneider told The Times after the vote Tuesday night. “The way the drought has continued these last four years, we are really getting at that last resort.”
The process of reopening the plant began in September, when Lake Cachuma, the city’s main reservoir, dipped below 30% capacity. The City Council that month voted to jump-start efforts to bring the desalination plant back online.
The contract approved Tuesday includes about $46.6 million for design and construction.
Additional costs come from legal and consulting fees during the permitting process. The plant is expected to be operating by fall 2016.
“We recognize it’s a big decision to make,” Schneider said. “We also recognize that desalination is not just for this particular drought — they are cyclical.”
The city has been recognized for its water conservation efforts, with per capita water use falling several gallons below other Southern California cities.