Ocean Desalination Pilot Project
Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California
Client: City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District
Partners: University of California – Santa Cruz (UCSC)
Kestrel consulting’s role: Identifying funding source, grant proposal writing, grant administration
Total project cost: $4 million
Duration: 2006 – 2009
Funding provided by: California Department of Water Resources
Public Benefits: Improving water supply, technology advances for energy efficiency and treatment
Kestrel Consulting assisted the City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District by securing $2.2 million grant for a pilot seawater desalination project. The goal of the project was to demonstrate the feasibility of seawater desalination to augment drinking water supply in Santa Cruz County and optimize systems to reduce energy consumption and chemical use.
The demonstration plant was built at UCSC’s Long Marine Lab using different combinations of pretreatment and membrane processes to find the most cost-effective and optimal system for use in Santa Cruz.
The plant was completed in April 2007 and produced about 72,000 gallons per day for one year. Kestrel Consulting provided grant management services for the duration of the project, including grant accounting and financial review. Kestrel also helped to secure $700,000 from the IRWM Grant Program for the City to design a seawater intake structure. This highly technical project in a complex ecological setting required close coordination with engineers and scientists.
Read more
→ Water Districts Break Ground on Demonstration Desalination Plant
→ Desalination plant deemed successful in Santa Cruz
