South County likely to get Diablo desal water
August 26, 2015
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors gave unanimous support Tuesday to a plan to pipe desalinated water from Diablo Canyon to South County homes.
The board directed county staff to begin planning the construction of a seven-mile pipeline from the nuclear power plant to Port San Luis in Avila Beach. There, the drinking water would connect to a South County distribution system.
PG&E’s desalination plant at Diablo Canyon can provide 1,000 acre-feet of water at full capacity. All of that water could go to South County residents.
The county is also considering constructing an 11-mile pipeline from Diablo Canyon to Los Osos. County officials are not as supportive of that project, though.
County staffers say the pipeline to Avila Beach would cost between $8 million and $11 million and would take a year to complete.
The county plans to apply for drought-relief grants from the state to help finance the project. Additional funds are expected to come from contracts the county would negotiate with South County water purveyors.
The board has yet to give final approval of the project. It instructed staff to return to the board with a progress report in January.
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