5 ms·
I live in Carlsbad, CA. We procure 50M gallons a day from the Pacific Ocean. [0] San Diego saw this coming 10y ago and took action. 0. https://www.carlsbaddes
by drewnick 4y ago
I live in Carlsbad, CA. We procure 50M gallons a day from the Pacific Ocean. [0]
San Diego saw this coming 10y ago and took action.
0. https://www.carlsbaddesal.com/ https://www.carlsbaddesal.com/
- margalabargala 4y agoFor the curious: 50M gallons is 153 acre-feet. Multiply by 365, that's just shy of 56000 acre feet per year. So three of these plants would be approximately 1% of the water allocated in the original Colorado River compact.
- Z_I_F_F 4y agoHow many acre-feet does San Diego consume yearly?
- drewnick 4y agoThank you for this calculation. This water is primarily residential, versus the Colorado River compact water, which is majority agricultural. California exports hay (grown on Coloradio River compact water) to other countries, including China and the Middle East. [0] [0] https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2017/09/28/booming-demand-hay-asia-middle-east-driving-agribusiness-california-desert/702400001/ https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2017/09/28/...
- he_is_legend 4y agoFurther proof of the blind insanity of capitalism. They are basically shipping water across the ocean from one desert to another. "The company announced in January 2016 that it paid $31.8 million for 1,790 acres. Some of its fields run alongside the Colorado River. The company grows hay for cows in its dairy in Saudi Arabia, where the monarchy has set a policy of growing less alfalfa, wheat and corn to reduce pumping of groundwater from the depleted aquifers of the Arabian Peninsula."
- Melting_Harps 4y ago> Further proof of the blind insanity of capitalism. While I agree the pitfalls of unchecked Capitalism are rather dire, you have to realize this business model is only possible because of USDA subsidies; under no other circumstances could this be a profitable endeavor if ti were left to Market forces alone, were it not for the State offsetting the obscene expenses it simply wouldn't be possible. Furthermore, insuring these crops should be a matter for those respective nations and a premium should be placed on them as that is their final destination--especially since the House of Saud refuses to use it's own water but expects CA to use it's fertile soil and limited water supply to feed its dairy cattle.
- Panzer04 4y agoIt’s only insane because we aren’t charging enough for the water. It’s not properly accounting for the real cost of the water usage.
- asdff 4y agoSomething like 80% of the water used in California goes to agriculture. Another 10% to industry. The remaining 10% includes all the grass lawns you see (which are increasingly irrigated with recycled water) and all residential and urban life. There is plenty of water in California, it is just mismanaged. I imagine that's true everywhere else in the west as well. Water rights laws are some of the most corrupted things there are.
- Melting_Harps 4y ago> I live in Carlsbad, CA When I worked in Carlsbad driving in from Southern OC, I remember seeing the construction for Poseidon, it was in the midst of the financial crisis but Carlsbad is an affluent city with mainly older residents and I recall thinking to myself: these guys know how to spend their money right. If I recall correctly Poseidon supplies not just all of Carlsbad but also to the greater San Diego area and parts of Riverside and OC and is on track to recover it's costs ahead of schedule, right?
- drewnick 4y agoYes, it supplies about 10% of the region's water. At a 2x cost compared to other methods, but for residential the economics still make sense.