Need to develop local water sources: Ventura County Public Works Agency receives $7 million grant toward Moorpark Desalter Project

Editor’s Note: With El Nino so far a bust down here in So Cal, and the State’s reservoirs still below capacity, developing a local source of water becomes a necessity to keep Ventura County livable. The desalter project stretches from the outfall at Port Hueneme where the heavy salts will be disposed of to the brine line’s farthest reach in Moorpark.  The brine line, a system of pipes still under construction, will carry the byproduct of reserve osmosis facilities processing brackish groundwater.  There will be desalters all along its length.  The boon of a $7 million grant to finish the Moorpark DeSalter will help increase the supply of precious water in our county.

The Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Department of Water and Sanitation received a $7 million proposition 84 grant from the State Department of Water Resources through the Watershed Coalition of Ventura County for its Moorpark Desalter Project.

The project, which has an overall estimated cost of $50 million to complete, will remove up to 18 million pounds of salt per year from the Las Posas Groundwater Basin and provide up to 5,000 acre feet per year of high quality water for use by agricultural and residential customers in the Moorpark area.

“Despite recent rains, California is still in the midst of an historic of drought. The water supply shortage caused by the four-year drought has created an urgent need for the development of local water supplies, the reduction of dependence on imported water, and the stabilization of customer water rates,” explains David Sasek, Director of Water and Sanitation.

Funding from the recent grant will help fund the construction of between 10 and 18 production wells in the South Las Posas Basin and a desalination water treatment plant. The brackish groundwater extracted by these wells will be treated through a membrane treatment process that includes filters, low-pressure reverse osmosis, disinfection, and chemical water conditioning. The treated water will meet State drinking water quality standards and will be served to customers in the Moorpark area through the Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1 water distribution system.

When operational, the project will provide water at a cost of approximately $835 per acre foot, significantly lower than the $1,300 per acre foot cost of imported water. As a result, water rates throughout the District will stabilize for all 38,000 residents and importantly for about 4,600 customers in the economically challenged area around Old Town Moorpark.

The projected completion date of the Moorpark desalination plant is December 2018.

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