Pacific Aqueduct Project
Linking Fresh Water Solutions together in the Western States
The general strategy is to bolster California's water resilience and supply through a robust desalination program, allowing for excess to be transported East to Arizona and Northeast to Las Vegas, Nevada and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Five primary sites are considered for sourcing:
Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Station, CA
Energy + Desalination = Good Combination
The site is home to an aging nuclear power plant that recently had its retirement age extended. A desalination facility could be colocated, installed in conjunction with an alternative energy type, or implemented in combination with a replacement nuclear reactor once the current facility is set to be decommisioned.
The site's location is obviously well-connected to the energy grid, and is not too far from the existing water aqueduct infrastructure that moves water from Northern California to the South.
Huntington Beach, CA
Poseidon's Pumphouse
This is the proposed site of the Poseidon Desalination System, which was delayed repeatedly until the plan was rejected for lack of alterations to environmental impacts and due to added costs for future sea level rise mitigation. The site overtakes an existing gas power plant, and is located on the Pacific shoreline.
The site need not be a full land-bound desalination system, as it could either be a relay site from an oceanic desalination site or merely a salt water pumping station directed to the Salton Sea and the Great Salt Lake, with lesser desalination systems further inland.
The problems mentioned as reasons to reject the plant originally are addressed within the research document provided in another section on the site (accessible from the Home page).
Monterey Bay, CA
Experimental Ambient Pressure Siphon Desalination
Based on the theory that the ambient pressure of a water column can reach the necessary 90 BAR to perform Reverse Osmosis filtration. There are several locations close to shore within the Bay that could accommodate the experiment.
In principle, several pipes held under vacuum would be extended downwards into the depths, drawing water from a filtration bulb at the required pressure. As the water is drawn inward, the vacuum created above the water line draws the water up through the pipes to be distributed into the aqueduct system and/or reprocessed in a multi-stage desalination process (ie, Solar Concentrator, Passive metal capture).
Having multiple pipes allows for a continuous flow of water with less required pressure based on the volume of the individual pipe. The system should effectively work like a typical siphon, with water flowing continually based on a combination of ambient pressure differences and surface friction. As siphons can "stall", having multiple pipes allows for the process to be restored using the accessible vacuum pressure from the other tubes.
Tangentially to the Calcasieu Research Station Project, a desalination method by siphon could be employed in a traditional configuration, where the ambient pressure still draws water in but then flows by gravity to a lower point in a modulated pressure environment (the ocean floor-bound station).
San Francisco Bay / Oakland, CA
Sports Stadiums and Energy Drinks
Whether taking over part of a port area where the now vacated Oakland Athletics played, or the now-vacant Raiders Stadium on the Eastern shore of the Bay, the proximity to water might allow for a reliable supply of water for the area, and allow excess to be sent East and Northeast to thirsty regions without direct access, or with limited access, to renewable water supplies.
As the site is on line with the proposed Pacific Coastal Corridor, Southward aqueducts could move independently of the existing waterway or simply diverge at the requisite spot to join with the "Los Angeles River" by way of the core California Water System. Similarly, the proposed energy corridor along that leg of the Pacific Coastal Corridor for the purpose of facilitating electrified freight trucking would provide the infrastructure for the necessary pumping stations.
Puerto Penasco, MX
It's OK to Drink the Water (after Desalination)
This site location is currently being considered by an Israeli firm looking to supply Phoenix, AZ with water from the Gulf of Mexico.
Currently, Arizona is working on the Central Arizona Water Project, adding aqueduct systems and transferring water between aquifer sites. While Yuma, AZ has a sizeable desalination facility, new technology can supplement the process and prepare for future growth in the region, anticipated not least for the arrival of the national rail network as proposed here.
The Desalination route would cross the international boundary, and in one iteration of my proposal, would feed into a surface reservoir that doubles as a destination recreation area/State Park and serve emergency supply to the Salton Sea. The connective aqueduct system between California and Arizona would then allow Arizona to "fill their coffer[dam]s", then send water further Eastward to El Paso, ultimately connecting to a Rio Grande Water/Energy/Boundary Infrastructure system.
While the route is not high on the priority list, perhaps the route between Phioenix and Las Vegas as part of the Western Triangle would incentivize a Northward Water and Rail route earlier than anticipated, ultimately forming the triangle with the early completion of the Brightline West rail route.
