New Desalination Facility is a Major Milestone for Drought-Smart Infrastructure Solutions in the Delta

New Desalination Facility is a Major Milestone for Drought-Smart Infrastructure Solutions in the Delta

Following several years of planning and investment, the City of Antioch has reached a climate-resilient milestone: a new brackish water desalination facility near its existing water treatment plant.

The facility, supported by $10 million in Proposition 1 desalination grant funding from the Department of Water Resources (DWR), will produce up to 6 million gallons per day of treated drinking water -an important boost to regional supply reliability amid rising salinity in the San Joaquin River.

Building Resilience in the Delta

The Antioch Brackish Water Desalination Plant serves a population of approximately 112,000 and offers a critical lifeline to both the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the state of California by bolstering water supply reliability, mitigating salinity intrusion, and enhancing regional resilience. The Delta supplies water to farms and communities statewide and the new facility helps address the increasing threat of saltwater intrusion intensified by drought and reduced freshwater flows. The desalination plant will use reverse osmosis to remove salinity and deliver a dependable, high-quality local water source that reduces reliance on imported supplies and groundwater sources.

Brackish desalination is more energy-efficient and less costly than seawater treatment, making it a more viable and sustainable option for inland communities like Antioch. This strategic piece of infrastructure reinforces California's water resilience in the face of climate variability, supports food production and urban needs, and protects the integrity of the Delta.

Enhancing Water Security and Local Independence

Once fully operational by the end of 2025, the plant will supply up to 40 percent of Antioch's drinking water. It also gives the city the ability to rely less on purchased water which, during extended dry periods, can reduce costs and dependency on external sources.

Mayor Ron Bernal has celebrated the project as a landmark in regional sustainability and independence. It's the first desalination facility in the California Delta and just the second in the Bay Area, following Newark's plant.

The Broader Importance of Desalination

Brackish desalination offers a valuable, localized solution as California faces increasing challenges from drought, changing Delta hydrodynamics, and climate volatility. Along with needing significantly less energy than ocean desalination and having fewer environmental impacts, a major benefit of brackish desalination is that it can be deployed inland - bringing secure water to communities not situated along the coast.

The Antioch project exemplifies how blending smart engineering, strategic funding, and infrastructure optimization, such as leveraging existing water treatment systems, pipelines, and rights, can deliver cost-effective, resilient water supplies.

DWR provides grants to local agencies for the planning, design, and construction of projects to desalinate naturally occurring brackish and ocean water for potable water supply. It also provides grants for pilot, demonstration, and research projects. Visit DWR's website to find more information on the Desalination Grant Program.

Photos of the eventcan be found on DWR's Pixel account.