Coastal Commission decision worth its salt

Californians should be outraged that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared we're in a drought. Enough fresh water to meet Southern California's entire annual needs is allowed to wash into San Francisco Bay in a single day. Every day. Divert a day's worth, and the drought vanishes.

California's water wars over rights and uses have been waged for years and may be beyond resolution considering the many obstacles and competing interests. How do we mitigate environmental effects? What's an adverse environmental effect when weighed against human needs? Why should farmers pay less per drop to nourish fruits and nuts than you pay to quench your thirst?

More governmental Band-Aids promise only to further complicate the problem, not solve it. There's hope, however, if government gets out of the way.

Apparently seized by a fit of common sense, the California Coastal Commission has approved the nation's largest drinking-water desalination plant, at Agua Hediona Lagoon in Carlsbad, to tap a virtually inexhaustible supply – the Pacific Ocean.

It's still costly to convert saltwater for human consumption. But technological advances are making it more economical, and drought conditions are making it more attractive as our main sources of potable water become less reliable.

This convergence of technology and demand may be why 20 more desalination plants are queued up for Coastal Commission approval, and why investors find the prospect profitable. Tampa Bay, Fla., began tapping its own pretty much endless supply of drinkable fresh water last year with a new desalination plant designed to relieve reliance on ground aquifers.

Conservation is a responsible reaction to shortage. But as San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders noted, “We must diversify our region's water-supply portfolio. We cannot conserve our way out of the water crisis.”

With technological advances have come environmental mitigations, including the reverse osmosis process for filtering seawater used in Tampa

Bay and to be employed at Carlsbad. Salty residue is recycled and diluted by returning it to the ocean. When demand and innovation converge, obstacles can be cleared.

Some see a problem and demand government do something. Others see an opportunity in a problem but need the government to get out the way. We like the latter approach. We urge government gatekeepers, like the Coastal Commission, to get out of the way rather than obstruct desalination projects so Californians can get the water they want and need.