Water Source Panel Studies Desalination for Region : Drought: Supervisor John K. Flynn, who heads the committee, says he is troubled that Ventura is pressing toward such a plant for only the city.

A countywide committee of water leaders is studying whether a regional desalination plant could solve long-term water problems for agencies and cities throughout the county--including the city of Ventura.

The committee, convened and headed by Supervisor John K. Flynn, is trying to draw cities and water agencies together to develop new sources of water during the next 30 years. Flynn hopes that by the end of next year, the committee can agree on a plan to carry the region into the next century.

A regional desalination plant could be built to treat seawater, brackish underground water or reclaimed sewer water. The committee is also examining exchanges of water among agencies and storing water in underground basins in wet years and drawing it back during dry cycles.

A regional solution would save money for all agencies involved and ensure adequate supplies as the population grows and water supplies from Northern California become more uncertain, Flynn and other water leaders said.

But Flynn and others say they are troubled that Ventura is already pressing toward a desalination plant to serve only the city. The move follows an advisory vote by the city’s residents in November favoring a desalination plant over a pipeline to the state water system.

“I’m still concerned that some agencies are looking out only after themselves,” Flynn said. If the city had opted for a pipeline to the state aqueduct, it would have benefited not only Ventura, but other districts in the region, he said.

In addition, Oxnard is looking into whether it is feasible to use the desalination process to make treated waste water usable for agriculture.

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The two cities’ work toward individual solutions, officials said, makes it imperative that the county come together now to form a plan for the future.

“If we wait until Ventura goes by itself and builds its own desalination plant and Oxnard goes by itself, then it will be too late for any advantages that could be gained from a regional facility,” said Lowell Preston, manager of the county’s Water Resources Department. “Now is the time to act.”

The city of Ventura, which is part of Flynn’s committee, may be interested in a regional desalination plant if it could save money for city residents, said Shelly Jones, public works director for the city.

Southern California Edison has discussed the possibility of building a desalination plant at Ormond Beach, he said. Ventura might be willing to work cooperatively on such a project after studies on costs and other factors were completed.

But, Jones said, Ventura is not willing to wait long while the countywide committee discusses options. The City Council has directed its staff to hire a project manager for a desalination plant and begin engineering studies, Jones said.

“We are going to move ahead on this,” he said. “We are not going to sit around for three or four years planning a project.”

Because Oxnard is talking about processing waste water for agriculture rather than producing drinking water as Ventura plans, it is unlikely that the cities could work together on a project, he said.

Flynn’s group, convened a year ago and named the Desal Committee, includes representatives from districts and cities throughout the county. But water leaders acknowledge that they face an uphill battle in forging a consensus among the diverse interests.

Nevertheless, Donald R. Kendall, general manager of the Calleguas Municipal Water District, said the committee represents a crucial first step.

“The best solution is something we are already starting to do, and that’s working together,” he said.

Kendall, whose district provides some or all of the water used by 450,000 people in Camarillo, Oxnard and the east end of the county, said he will take a plan for water exchanges to the committee when it meets next month.

Under Kendall’s plan, Calleguas, which receives its water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, would supply growers in the Las Posas Valley with imported water when water from MWD and Northern California is plentiful.

Calleguas would then receive credit from the county for the water that the farmers did not pump from the basin. Then, during dry years, Calleguas could pump and use the amount of water for which it had built up credit. The same scenario could apply if Calleguas supplied growers with reclaimed waste water.

“What if we have a drought or an earthquake that cuts off our supply?” Kendall said. Having the credits for the ground water “would be like having an insurance policy.”

Kendall said Calleguas could work out a similar arrangement with growers on the Oxnard Plain.

He said that desalinating seawater, converting brackish water from underground basins, and treating waste water carry with them environmental problems, including brine disposal and producing the power needed to drive the energy-intensive treatment processes.

Flynn, however, said the countywide plan should ultimately include desalination, reclamation and water storage and transfers.

“I think it will probably take all of those pieces,” Flynn said. “We have to work together on this.”