A Northern California city just launched operations on a technology that could change the future of drought resilience in the region and bring clean drinking water to millions.
The city of Antioch, located in the Bay Area, has launched a $116 million desalination plant that will convert brackish water from the San Joaquin River into fresh, drinkable water, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. Once operational, the facility will produce up to 6 million gallons of clean water per day, enough to cover about 40% of the city's drinking supply.
This breakthrough is more than just a local milestone for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It's the eighth plant in a growing statewide initiative to build 14 planned plants by 2040 to strengthen water security in the face of the warming climate, drought, and saltwater intrusion — problems that threaten drinking water access for more than 4 billion people worldwide.
This new plant is especially innovative because it uses brackish water, a mix of salt and freshwater, which requires less energy to desalinate than seawater. This process consumes roughly half the energy and generates only a quarter of the waste as traditional ocean-based desalination systems, making it a more sustainable and cost-effective solution.
"This type of state-local partnership enables innovative new technologies to secure water supply over time for communities like Antioch as rising sea levels bring water quality challenges right to their doorstep," said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. "We have to move with a sense of urgency."
Antioch Mayor Ron Bernal called the project a "transformational investment" that protects not only his city's residents and their drinking water but also neighboring communities since salinity levels in the San Joaquin have been rising. The facility, which took nearly a decade of planning and collaboration, is designed to help the Golden State adapt to worsening drought cycles while reducing dependence on imported water from stressed ecosystems.
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While environmental groups are monitoring the plant's potentially toxic brine discharge to ensure it doesn't harm wildlife, officials say the facility will operate safely within ecological limits. Typically, these plants use dirty energy sources to produce energy, resulting in more planet-warming carbon pollution, but California is a leader in renewable energy projects. This benefits the environment by rejuvenating ecosystems and resource availability for wildlife by stabilizing weather patterns and reducing the effects of severe drought.
Its success could pave the way for even more such projects across the state.
If all goes as planned, the Antioch plant and the other 13 in development could become a blueprint for sustainable water solutions worldwide, providing a path toward affordable, abundant drinking water and helping cities and families adapt to the increasingly unpredictable climate.
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