California Governor Gavin Newsom set out a new water resourcing vision for the state on 11August, quantifying substantial increases in desalination and reuse capacity, and foreshadowing a more streamlined permitting process for advanced treatment projects. The document calls for an additional 800,000 acre-feet per year (2.7 million m~3/d) of recycled water capacity by 2030, with a further 1 million AFY targeted by 2040 (see table, right). Brackish water desalination capacity is set to increase by 28,000 AFY (94,625m~3/d) by 2030, with another 56,000 AFY (189),250m~3/d) envisioned by 2040. Alongside a rise in stormwater capture, conservation is also a key tenet of the state's bid to offset an anticipated 10% drop in the state's water supplies by 2040. While the announcement was immediately criticised for being scant on detail, it does stipulate a deadline of 1st January 2024 for the State Water Board to identify recycled water projects with the potential to be online by 2030 and 2040, respectively. The same deadline applies to a newly announced effort by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Board to identify brackish water desalination projects which are deliverable within the same timeframes.
展开▼
