It sounds like there are two issues here: Desalinated water is more expensive than rain water. No surprise there. You need to desalinate it. And when the alternative is no rain water because of...
It sounds like there are two issues here:
Desalinated water is more expensive than rain water. No surprise there. You need to desalinate it. And when the alternative is no rain water because of aridification the choice is clear.
The plant is going to be built in a poorer area (Marina) but will serve a further, richer area. I suppose if the desalinated water will offset other water sources shared between both areas is could be an indirect benefit to the poorer area. But I don't know if that's the case and it seems like a valid complaint. It would have been more fair to allocate even a small portion of the desalinated water to Marina.
Marina doesn’t want it because it’s very expensive water and their wells are working. (For now.) It seems like it would be a good compromise to provide backup water? I don’t think there is any...
Marina doesn’t want it because it’s very expensive water and their wells are working. (For now.) It seems like it would be a good compromise to provide backup water?
I don’t think there is any unprotected seashore south of Monterey. Industrial stuff is all to the north on the much flatter land there. I don’t know why they picked that particular spot, though.
Phew! Well this is incredibly interesting. @skybrain I know we've gone back and forth on desal on the Monterey Bay Penninsula for a while and I'll be honest that this new proposal leaves me...
Phew! Well this is incredibly interesting. @skybrain I know we've gone back and forth on desal on the Monterey Bay Penninsula for a while and I'll be honest that this new proposal leaves me scratching my head. The plant is set to be built where the old sand plant is being decommissioned. Many of the calls for the plant to be closed in the first place were environmental in nature, so this is a pretty odd turn of events. I am happy they have moved the proposal away from the Moss Landing plant, aka the nursery habitat of the entire bay, and marina isn't a terrible choice. That said, implications to Marina seem pretty heavy.
What feels left out of this article on "why oh why can't we meet the water needs of the region" is the huuuuuuge expansions in oversized, single family homes currently being constructed across Marina and Seaside. Like tens of thousands of single family residences with landscaping, nearly a 1:1 bathroom to bedroom ratio, and high entry pricing. In an area where adding a sink to your home has a waitlist, these homes seem like a backwards development to have been greenlit. We know how to make high desity, water efficient housing. This is not it. To those curious, google SeaHaven and just look at the brand new sprawl. We need to develop like we have restrictions on resources (because we do) and employ designs that were developed this century. The other thing to take into consideration is the 7 Golf Courses within Pebble Beach. Again, check out the sprawl on Google maps and imagine the water usage. Make sure you look at the satellite imagery as the standard layer doesn't actually show all the courses.
Also, I'm a California American Water customer. Their pricing schemes are already pretty unpopular on the coast and this sounds like they will only be getting worse. I'm curious if the increase in cost will offset some of the other frustrations people have (i.e. paying tens of thousands of dollars to add new plumbing fixtures in renovation and house expansions). If so, this once again feels like the poor will be subsidizing the rich.
I'd love to learn more about the financial implications of this development, but it just feels like a subsidy for the second home owners, country clubbers, and general wealthy of the bay.
As I understand it, the part of the coast in the Salinas watershed isn’t part of the same water district and gets its water from different sources like wells and the Salinas river. So they don’t...
As I understand it, the part of the coast in the Salinas watershed isn’t part of the same water district and gets its water from different sources like wells and the Salinas river. So they don’t have the water restrictions, plus it’s flat, largely vacant land to build on, suitable for development. The water table is dropping, though. Maybe they’ll have shortages someday?
Besides the sprawl, the Salinas Valley is all farming and I assume that uses more water than anything else.
I think the building restrictions due to water in the Monterey peninsula water district are pretty unusual? They aren’t caused by NIMBYism but do have the effect of limiting housing growth, which probably means some people are happy that there’s been barely enough water. Hopefully water from the new plant will someday cause the restrictions to be lifted and Monterey district cities can build their share of new housing, but I’m skeptical.
How does the pricing work? I think someone said it’s a tiered system.
It sounds like there are two issues here:
Marina doesn’t want it because it’s very expensive water and their wells are working. (For now.) It seems like it would be a good compromise to provide backup water?
I don’t think there is any unprotected seashore south of Monterey. Industrial stuff is all to the north on the much flatter land there. I don’t know why they picked that particular spot, though.
Carmel-By-The-Sea could surely afford to subsidize Marina's water. Not that I have any say.
Phew! Well this is incredibly interesting. @skybrain I know we've gone back and forth on desal on the Monterey Bay Penninsula for a while and I'll be honest that this new proposal leaves me scratching my head. The plant is set to be built where the old sand plant is being decommissioned. Many of the calls for the plant to be closed in the first place were environmental in nature, so this is a pretty odd turn of events. I am happy they have moved the proposal away from the Moss Landing plant, aka the nursery habitat of the entire bay, and marina isn't a terrible choice. That said, implications to Marina seem pretty heavy.
What feels left out of this article on "why oh why can't we meet the water needs of the region" is the huuuuuuge expansions in oversized, single family homes currently being constructed across Marina and Seaside. Like tens of thousands of single family residences with landscaping, nearly a 1:1 bathroom to bedroom ratio, and high entry pricing. In an area where adding a sink to your home has a waitlist, these homes seem like a backwards development to have been greenlit. We know how to make high desity, water efficient housing. This is not it. To those curious, google SeaHaven and just look at the brand new sprawl. We need to develop like we have restrictions on resources (because we do) and employ designs that were developed this century. The other thing to take into consideration is the 7 Golf Courses within Pebble Beach. Again, check out the sprawl on Google maps and imagine the water usage. Make sure you look at the satellite imagery as the standard layer doesn't actually show all the courses.
Also, I'm a California American Water customer. Their pricing schemes are already pretty unpopular on the coast and this sounds like they will only be getting worse. I'm curious if the increase in cost will offset some of the other frustrations people have (i.e. paying tens of thousands of dollars to add new plumbing fixtures in renovation and house expansions). If so, this once again feels like the poor will be subsidizing the rich.
I'd love to learn more about the financial implications of this development, but it just feels like a subsidy for the second home owners, country clubbers, and general wealthy of the bay.
As I understand it, the part of the coast in the Salinas watershed isn’t part of the same water district and gets its water from different sources like wells and the Salinas river. So they don’t have the water restrictions, plus it’s flat, largely vacant land to build on, suitable for development. The water table is dropping, though. Maybe they’ll have shortages someday?
Besides the sprawl, the Salinas Valley is all farming and I assume that uses more water than anything else.
I think the building restrictions due to water in the Monterey peninsula water district are pretty unusual? They aren’t caused by NIMBYism but do have the effect of limiting housing growth, which probably means some people are happy that there’s been barely enough water. Hopefully water from the new plant will someday cause the restrictions to be lifted and Monterey district cities can build their share of new housing, but I’m skeptical.
How does the pricing work? I think someone said it’s a tiered system.