County desalination study includes a Cambria alternative; engineers estimate $200M–$600M range

Anthony Simo, project engineer with Krollo Engineers, told the board the county’s desalination feasibility study is in phase 2a and that engineers reduced an initial set of 12 concepts to five refined alternatives. He said Cambria is explicitly included in alternatives A–C and that the alternatives range in scale from about 580 to 7,800 acre‑feet per year.

Simo warned there is substantial uncertainty at the planning stage but gave a broad cost window: “we have a 200,000,000 to $600,000,000 estimate on these projects, and that is including, the, the capital cost,” a figure he said reflects wide geographic and permitting variation. He described alternative A as a Cambria‑area local delivery option that would require a new ocean outfall because the existing outfall sits inside a marine protected area; alternative C would use the larger Morro Bay outfall and benefit from economies of scale.

Directors pressed the presenter on lessons from earlier local proposals that failed Coastal Commission review, on how economies‑of‑scale affect per‑acre‑foot cost, and on governance and funding next steps. Simo said the project is intended to supplement — not replace — existing supplies and that future steps will include detailed hydrogeology, water‑quality modeling, CEQA/permitting and governance and finance studies. He also said a public draft report will be released in July and that partners and interested agencies will be invited to the next decision point in phase 2b.

Board members and staff noted environmental constraints and community concerns; Mr. Green confirmed the district had received authorization to distribute $375,000 from an EPA grant to assist a nearby Stewart Street tank project, a separate local funding development discussed earlier in the meeting. The board did not take action on the desalination plan itself; the presentation was informational and intended to solicit public input and follow‑up analysis.