Carlsbad's future quality of life depends on having a reliable and affordable supply of water. Due to prolonged droughts, environmental concerns, and legal restrictions on the Colorado River and the Bay-Delta in Northern California, the San Diego region to has worked to develop new, locally controlled water supplies.

The Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, named in honor of Carlsbad's longest serving mayor, who was an early proponent of desalination, is a 50-million gallon a day seawater desalination facility supplying the San Diego region with approximately 10 percent of its drinking water needs.

The project, owned by Poseidon Water, is the first large scale desalination plant on the West Coast and the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The San Diego County Water Authority has a 30-year water purchase agreement with Poseidon to buy and deliver the plant's water to its member agencies, including the Carlsbad Municipal Water District. The plant began operations in 2015.

What’s Carlsbad’s role in the project?

The project is located in Carlsbad, but it is not a city project. The project’s developer is a private company called Poseidon Water. The San Diego County Water Authority purchases the water and distributes it to water agencies throughout the region, including in Carlsbad.

The City of Carlsbad was very involved in helping this project get off the ground. Originally, the City of Carlsbad planned to buy water directly from Poseidon. When Poseidon could not secure financing for the project, the San Diego County Water Authority worked on a deal with Poseidon to purchase water from the desalination project and distribute it to water agencies in the region. This deal, called a water purchase agreement, was approved November 29, 2012, by the San Diego County Water Authority board of directors.

Does Carlsbad get all its water from the desalination project? 

No. The desalination project provides about 10 percent of the region’s water supply.

Do Carlsbad residents still have to conserve? 

Locally controlled water sources like desalinated seawater help, but water conservation will continue to be a way of life in Carlsbad due to our dry climate and limited availability of imported water.

Does desalination require a lot of energy? 

Carlsbad’s current water supply must be pumped from hundreds of miles away, over mountains, requiring significant energy. Although seawater desalination also requires energy, the desalination plant will be “carbon neutral” because the plant’s owner, Poseidon Water, is mitigating the plant’s energy use.

More information

Carlsbad Desalination Plant website