Draw of surfing great, with caveat Though...

Draw of surfing great, with caveat

Though it thrills me to see our city recognized internationally as

a surfing mecca each year when the U.S. Open brings us front and

center in the surfing news, as a downtown resident I must also add

that, next to the Fourth of July, this becomes the least enjoyable

time for me to be a homeowner downtown. The gridlock at every stop

sign on our numbered streets last week made driving almost

impossible. Add to that the fact that our streets were packed with

visitors’ cars by 8 a.m., making it impossible for both my husband

and I to make separate plans (we have a single car garage), knowing

that we would not have any chance to park in our neighborhood until

well after 10 p.m. The amount of trash left on our sidewalk and

parkway was also a disappointing byproduct of the festivities.

I would love to see our city remain a hub for the surfing elite,

and I greatly appreciate the dollars such events can potentially

bring to our community. But I would also like to see a way for those

of us who live here and support our community year-round to not be so

ill-affected by them.

Perhaps it is time to rally behind making the numbered streets a

“permit parking only” neighborhood?

LISA SHARLIN KLEIN

Huntington Beach

Who would ague with Poseidon plan?

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed: “If we could

produce fresh water from salt water at a low cost, that would indeed

be a great service to humanity, and would dwarf any other scientific

accomplishment.” Who in their right mind could argue what that, yet

here we are, more than four decades later, with no commitment to

desalination in America? Only when a serious commitment is finally

made to establish ocean water desalination on a large scale in

America will we see the technology greatly improve and production

costs dramatically decline.

So, if the bellwether entrepreneur Poseidon Resources is willing

to bear the task and risk of building an unobtrusive, yet

state-of-the-art desalination plant here in Huntington Beach --

taking a portion of the existing cooling stream from the AES plant

and converting it into potable water -- while adding over $2 million

to the city’s coffer per year (in various taxes and fees), where is

the downside? The resulting brine will be mixed with the portion of

the cooling stream not used by the desal plant before being returned

to the ocean, and no more “constituents” (salts, metals etc) will be

returned to the ocean than were taken in. Not to mention that all

studies I’ve seen have shown little, if any effect on marine life by

adding a desal plant to AES. And for those concerned about bacteria

in the AES effluent and our surf zone: It has been shown by studies

that exposure to increased salinity can actually destroy fecal

bacteria via “osmotic stress,” so perhaps adding a desal plant to the

AES plant’s cooling loop may even help to cleanse the effluent,

subjecting it to increased salinity along it’s trip to the ocean

outfall, where it will quickly dilute. Let’s also not forget that we

do live in a coastal desert region and, in my opinion, need to take

much more responsibility for our own fresh water needs, while moving

away from selfishly importing large portions of it from hundreds of

miles away.

Finally, regarding the issues encountered at the Poseidon Tampa

Bay plant: It seems that the economic climate of 2000-01

(corporate/energy scandals, the technology bust and the attacks of

Sept. 11) were the main players in the financial issues that hampered

the project. Then the decision by the local Tampa Bay water district

to take over completion of the plant midway through construction,

instead of allowing Poseidon to resecure financing to finish the

plant to their original specifications, only added insult to injury.

Another (if not the) major issue, which arose in the warm-water

estuary of the Tampa Bay plant, was the unforeseen mass infestation

of nonnative, tiny, green Asian mussels (from the bilge water of

international cargo ships), whose very fine attachment hairs broke

off and passed through the desal plant’s prefilters, then continually

clogged the reverse osmosis membranes. This species of mussel cannot

live and reproduce in the much cooler waters off Huntington Beach,

and our own resident mussel species are not expected to present a

similar hair-clogging issue.

Therefore, I say yes to approving Poseidon’s offer to take -- at

their own financial risk -- this one large and long overdue step

toward realizing another of President Kennedy’s bold and progressive

dreams, and toward affirming Huntington Beach as one of California’s

most cutting-edge and progressive coastal communities.

TOM POLKOW

Huntington Beach

Report cloudy

on desal plant

The city should definitely not approve plans for a desalination

plant near the AES plant.

A major reason is that Poseidon Resources’ recirculated

environmental report is grossly inadequate in addressing the many

negative impacts brought to the attention of the City Council.

The City Council has a civic and moral obligation to protect the

citizens of Huntington Beach in its decision-making by rejecting

Poseidon’s report if it is found that the document doesn’t meet the

criteria necessary for approval.

Promises and “fix-it” solutions proposed by either Poseidon or its

adherents are not good enough. No certification with sweetheart

conditions is going to be acceptable this time around, and the

environmental report is already getting some sharply-worded criticism

from “know better” sources, such as the California Coastal

Commission.

The Huntington Beach City Council must make up its mind who it

represents -- the people it serves or the powerful special interests

who would seek to control it.

TIM GEDDES

Huntington Beach

City needs money; region needs water

The desalination plant should absolutely be approved. The region

needs the water. Putting saltwater back into the ocean isn’t going to

harm anything. And Huntington Beach could sure use the $2 million per

year that Poseidon would provide in tax revenue.

If the city denies the project, then a public water agency is

going to come in and build it anyway.

And then the city loses all control over the project and loses out

on the $2 million per year in tax revenue.

This is a no-brainer.

Approve the project immediately.

ERIC CARLISLE

Huntington Beach