During a drought in the early 1990's, Santa Barbara constructed a desalination plant. It operated for about a month before the City got on the much cheaper state water project, and it hasn't run since. Early this morning, in chambers packed with partisans on both sides, the Huntington Beach City Council voted 4 to 3 to go ahead with a desalination plant of its own, even though the Metropolitan Water District says current supplies are sufficient to meet demand for the next 25 years. The plant could mean 50 million gallons a day for Orange County, but completing won't be easy. At the moment, nobody knows who's going to buy it. Is it drought insurance or an invitation for more urban sprawl? We hear the pros and cons.
- Making News: The LA City Council and the Sunshine Canyon Landfill
The Los Angeles City Council wants to dump less trash in Grenada Hills at the controversial Sunshine Canyon landfill. Today was the deadline to renew a five-year contract, but the Council gave itself another 18 days to negotiate with the landfill owner, Browning-Ferris Industries. Kerry Cavanaugh has been covering the story for the Daily News.
Browning Ferris Industries
Sunshine Canyon Landfill
Cavanaugh's article on contract-renewal negotiations
Department of Water Resources
MDSI
Waste Management's El Sobrante Landfill
Poseidon Resources Huntington Beach Water Treatment Facility
Department of Water Resources' Water Desalination Project
