News
Redwood Shores Desalination Plant a Possibility for Saltworks Water Supply
by Stacie Chan, Redwood City Patch
The developers of the proposed Cargill Saltworks development are looking towards desalination as a potential water supply for its future 30,000 residents. It is one of many options the developer is eyeing to make the project feasible.
The location of the potential desalination plant, however, is yet to be determined, but the DMB-funded consultants have begun looking into the Redwood Shores area north of the San Carlos Airport.
In consultant Hart Howerton’s September report, sent to the city monthly, the consultant listed “preliminary investigation of San Carlos Airport Land Use planning for evaluation of requirements for developing the land north of the airport for desalination facilities.”
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The city is also still exploring the possibility of water transfer from Kern County.
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Josh Sonnenfeld of Save the Bay said he was concerned about potential impacts desalination could have on the surrounding natural habitats.
“We don’t know what the intake of all that water will do to wildlife,” he said. “We can’t assume we can just keep taking water from the Bay forever.”
As part of their desalination analysis, consultants had several conference calls discussing a desalination case in San Rafael, which has run into lawsuits and opposition from environmentalists. The Marin Municipal Water District recently appealed the court’s ruling that the environmental impact report did not adequately study impacts to marine life.
Residents of the city of Santa Cruz have similarly begun protests against a desalination plant by circulating a petition...
