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| October 26, 2009 |
Drought & Climate, Water Quality & Quantity, Watershed Planning |
Proposed Water Plant Raises Growth Issues in Marin County
Nothing about the Marin Municipal Water District storage yard and the run-down wooden pier protruding into San Francisco Bay give any hint of what they are: the site of what may become one of the fiercest water battles in Northern California in decades.
It is, on the surface, a set piece: an emotional struggle over a large planned water project facing strong environmental opposition. But at a more basic level, it is a contest over the ever-volatile issue of growth in Marin County.
The district is proposing to use both the yard and the Marin Rod & Gun Club pier as locations for a desalination plant that would suck up saltwater and initially could produce about five million gallons of water a day for its 190,000 customers, an increase of 6 percent in the district’s supply.
While opposition to the plant is heavily based on concerns about its harm to marine life and how much energy it would use, those issues mask a more fundamental question. Will Marin County, whose bays, farmland and redwood-dotted mountain slopes make it one of the most gorgeous corners of California, once again balk at a decision that it believes will stimulate growth?
[The information presented in News & Announcements has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, although its accuracy is not guaranteed. The views expressed in items posted to News & Announcements do not necessarily reflect those of the Montana Water Center or its employees.]