Mailbag: Desalination plant would be an enormous risk to ratepayers

I take great exception to the assumptions and conclusions in the commentary by South County resident Roger Butow (“Desalination is least harmful to environment, and it’s necessary,” April 2). He is dead wrong when he contends that Poseidon is taking “all the financial risk” on the desalination plant project.

The citizens of Huntington Beach and the Orange County Water District ratepayers are taking an enormous risk in constructing the water transmission pipelines and foraging for customers of the ultra-expensive plant.

If the plant doesn’t work or doesn’t operate effectively, we are on the hook for all the consequences. The proposed “term sheet” puts an enormous financial burden on the public, allowing Poseidon to avoid any responsibility “beyond the fence” of the plant.

Mr. Butow is also wrong on his assumptions about negative impacts to our local coastal environment (easy for him to say, living in Laguna Beach). He simply takes the Poseidon party line on these assertions (disturbing since Butow is a member of the OCWD’s new Ocean Desalination Citizens Advisory Committee and can hardly be considered objective by his comments).

Mr. Butow is also dead wrong on his alternatives to desalination, such as the OCWD’s Groundwater Replenishment System, which will produce 103,000 acre-feet of water at much less than Poseidon’s desal product. That’s enough water to serve 850,000 people in our North County area.

It seems clear that OCWD board majority members have stacked the deck of its Citizens Advisory Committee to ensure that Poseidon’s message is the only one being taken seriously.

Tim Geddes

Huntington Beach