Our Near, Sea-to-Tap Future: Desalinating Water Tankers in Floridian Waters? (OrlandoSentinel)

Jan.15, 2009 in Public Works, Water Crisis, Water Industry, Water Management, Water Technology

(Jan. 15, 2009, Orlando Sentinel)

Possibly 10 years from now, a converted oil tanker could offload desalted ocean water at an Atlantic port, with that water pumped to Mount Dora, Leesburg and DeLand.

A dozen utilities want to figure out whether that’s the best way to supply drinking water in the future.

The Coquina Coast desalination group on Wednesday kicked off meetings to hammer out what could become, at more than a half-billion dollars, the biggest project in Florida to tap the salty ocean. The treated water could be pumped through pipelines stretching into Lake, Volusia, Marion, Flagler and St. Johns counties.

By next year, the team hopes to figure out whether it should commission a retired oil tanker with onboard equipment to remove salt and minerals from the water, or if the group should build a traditional plant on the coast.

The projects won’t come cheap, with expected $500 million-plus price tags, or quickly, with a wait of eight to 10 years before a single drop of water is produced. Nor is it an easy choice, with some key environmental hurdles to overcome.

‘Have to be involved’

Yet, several utility directors said they have to consider the seawater option at the same time that other water projects, such as a proposed St. Johns River plant, are debated.

“We, like most of Central Florida, are required to find alternative water sources,” said DeLand utilities Director Jim Ailes, whose city is participating in the Coquina Coast group. “We haven’t made any big-time commitments in any project, but we have to be involved and sit at the table.”

All the utilities face the same quandary: that the cheap and easy way to get drinking water — tapping underground supplies — won’t be enough for their projected populations. One utility director noted that even with the economic downturn, growth is projected for Florida, and the cities and counties have to plan for that.

The Coquina Coast group, headed by Palm Coast, is one of the more serious efforts to establish an alternative source of water. Last year, several utilities and the St. Johns River Water Management District agreed to the first phase of the project, a $900,000 study comparing the options.

For example, a shipboard-desalination system using a retrofitted oil tanker may be available more quickly, but one utility official questioned what would happen if the ship had to travel for long spurts to avoid incoming tropical storms. A land-based water plant may be more stable, but supplying electricity to the plant, with its expected “carbon footprint,” has to be addressed.

Miles of pipelines needed

Either system will involve construction of miles of pipelines to reach participating cities and counties, which include Mount Dora, Leesburg, Bunnell and Palm Coast, as well as Flagler and St. Johns counties. DeLand, Marion County and the Water Authority of Volusia are attending the meetings, though they don’t have full voting rights.

The St. Johns board, which has emphasized the need for establishing new sources of water, already has committed $5 million for construction of the Coquina Coast project and might offer an additional $21 million.

The cities also plan to seek other state and federal grants.

Such grants, along with a complex partnership of many utilities, might be the only way anyone can afford the high cost of desalinated water, said Mount Dora public-works and utilities Director Gary Hammond. His city probably couldn’t afford a pipeline from Palm Coast, but it may be within reach if Leesburg, Marion County and other neighboring cities share the cost.

“All of the cities are facing financial issues, and I don’t know if anybody can come up with the money for this,” Hammond said. “But we have an obligation to pursue these alternative sources.”