The Laguna Beach County Water District Board of Directors approved the cost-sharing agreement for Phase 1 of the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project by a vote of 4-1.

The Doheny Ocean Desalination Project aims to create a new, reliable, local, drought-resilient water supply capable of producing up to five million gallons per day (MGD). By providing a critical emergency water source, the project is expected to improve South Orange County’s resilience to natural disasters. Utilizing existing infrastructure will significantly reduce the cost and impact of construction and facilitate the delivery of desalinated water. Operations are expected to begin in 2028.

Under the cost-share agreement, LBCWD has committed to pay 20 percent of the cost of developing the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project with five million tons of water. This financial commitment is approximately $2.58 million and represents LBCWD’s share of 1 million tons of water of the total capacity of the facility. This makes LBCWD the second partner in the project, following the Eastern Municipal Water District’s commitment in December 2023.

“Through desalination, we are achieving local reliability in Laguna Beach,” said Alex Rounaghi, vice president of the LBCWD board.

President Sue Kempf echoed this sentiment, stressing the importance of proactive investment in infrastructure: “We will never regret planning ahead.”

South Coast Water District Director Bill Green and General Manager Rick Shintaku were on hand to answer questions from the board and the public. Topics for discussion included the plant’s energy redundancy and the potential regional impacts of the desalination project.

Next steps for the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project include submitting the cost-sharing agreement to the City of San Clemente in September. With San Clemente’s approval, the agreement will become effective and SCWD will be able to seek final board approval and award the Progressive Design Build Operate Maintain contract.