PORT HUENEME : Naval Bases Support Desalination Plant

Officials for Ventura County’s two naval bases have given qualified approval to a plan to build a regional desalination plant with the city of Port Hueneme and the Channel Islands Beach community.

The $10-million reverse-osmosis plant could filter 3.9 million gallons of low-quality ground water each day, which would then be blended with higher-quality water before delivery to residents.

After months of review by the Navy Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme and the Naval Warfare Center at Point Mugu, Navy officials met recently with their Port Hueneme counterparts to voice their support for the plan.

“We’ve analyzed our options for future water supply and decided that the regional project would spread the cost over the largest number of customers,” Capt. Tom Boothe, Point Mugu’s public works officer, said Wednesday.

Booth said the Navy bases are under pressure from proposed new federal guidelines to improve the quality of water at the bases.

Currently, the Naval Construction Battalion Center and the Channel Islands Beach Community Service District draw water from coastal wells that are increasingly jeopardized by seawater intrusion.

Seabee base officials were planning a $1.7-million reverse-osmosis plant of their own, but have agreed that participating in a regional plan makes more sense, spokeswoman Linda Wadley said.

The Naval Warfare Center at Point Mugu and the city of Port Hueneme each receive water from wells operated by the United Water Conservation District. Water treated by the proposed facility, even after blending, would be three times cleaner than the water each now uses.