Where did $577,000 go?
According to Orange County Water district’s John Kennedy, $577,000 has been spent on the Poseidon project by the OCWD this past 3 years. Of that amount, $370,000 was spent “in house”, and the remainder, $207,000 was spent “out house” on consultants.
It appears that the OCWD has put the cart before the horse by allowing ratepayer’s monies to be spent on the unapproved project. OCWD spent all that money because Poseidon told the Board and staff that the project was fully permitted — but for the Coastal Commission permit. But that is not true. And even though the project is not permitted, OCWD is going to spend a lot more money on the pipe line to deliver the water that is supposed to come from the unpermitted project. Yikes!
OCWD took the “WASTE” OUT of OUR WATER MANAGEMENT!!
They did the right thing.The Board voted to increase the output of The Ground Water Replenishment System boosting the water production from 100 to 130 million gallons of water per day. This increase makes Poseidon even less necessary or attractive. The recycled waste water is better quality and a lot less expensive than the Poseidon desalinated water.
It’s a win-win-win alternative!
Find out more about recycled water Drinking recycled waste water.