OXNARD : Officials Studying Desalinization Plan

The city of Oxnard is studying a proposal to remove salt from seawater in an experimental process that backers say would cost one-quarter that of conventional desalinization systems.

But officials warn that the proposal still needs more study to determine whether the idea is feasible.

“Because of the paucity of information at this point, we can’t tell if it’s a great idea or pie in the sky,” Mayor Nao Takasugi said. “But we are very interested in looking at it because, if it is feasible, it could relieve pressure on our two other water sources.”

Takasugi said he expected the staff to bring a report back to the council within two months.

Oxnard faces cutbacks on both imported and ground water. Its imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies two-thirds of the city’s needs, has already been cut by 20% for cities and 50% for agriculture because of the five-year drought.

The city must also cut back on the water that it pumps from the ground because seawater has worked its way into fresh underground supplies. A new ordinance requires pumpers to cut use by 5% beginning in January, gradually cutting back until pumping has been reduced by 25% in 2010.

Under the new process, called vertical tube foam evaporation, the city would use steam to desalt seawater. The steam would be produced as a byproduct of power generation at Southern California Edison’s two Oxnard plants. It would cost about $20 million to build a plant to produce 5,000 acre-feet of water a year, about one-quarter of the water Oxnard uses annually.

The continuing cost is estimated at $528 per acre-foot.

Conventional desalinization plants such as the one being built in Santa Barbara use a reverse osmosis system that requires a separate energy source. A plant being built in Marin County to produce 5,000 acre-feet cost $64 million to build, with a continuing cost of $2,000 an acre-foot, city officials said.

But many problems have yet to be solved. Before the project could advance, Edison would have to agree to the project and the California Department of Health would have to approve the quality of the water produced. Also, the technology remains experimental. A small test project is under way near Modesto.