The DEIR comment period has now ended. Thank you for your comments and your interest in the project.

Welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Web site for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of the proposed Coastal Water Project (CWP). This site provides access to public documents and information relevant to the CEQA environmental review process.

What's New

NEW! Click here to view a summary of the comments received at our March public meetings. A summary of all comments received will be posted May 1, 2009. (PDF, 57 KB)

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) is now available for public review and comment on at this website and Monterey libraries through the close of the comment period on April 15, 2009.  Please visit the CEQA Process & Schedule page to learn where to review the document, and how to comment on the document.

A copy of the DEIR presentation from the public meetings is available for download (PDF, 940 KB).

Maps of the alternatives evaluated in the DEIR:

• Moss Landing Project Facilities (PDF, 664KB)
• North Marina Project Facilities (PDF, 664KB)
• Phase I of the Regional Project (PDF, 680KB)
• Proposed and Existing Regional Alternative Project Facilities (PDF, 292KB)

Background
California American Water (CalAm) submitted an application on September 24, 2004 to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to implement the Coastal Water Project (CWP). The CWP would supply 12,500 acre-feet of water per year (afy) for urban users on the Peninsula, as well as for injection into the Seaside Groundwater Basin. The proposed project includes the construction and operation of a seawater desalination plant including intake and discharge facilities, water transmission pipelines, storage reservoirs, pump stations, and aquifer storage and recovery facilities. For information on the CPUC process regarding CalAm's request to recover the costs of the CWP through rates, visit the CPUC proceedings page.

The CWP has been proposed in order to comply with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Order 95-10 which requires CalAm to secure a water supply to replace diversions from the Carmel River Aquifer above 3,376 afy to which CalAm has legal water rights.

Find out more about CalAm and the proposed project and its various alternatives.

In its role as the regulator of private water companies, the CPUC is preparing the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the proposed project (at CalAm’s expense).

To review the CEQA schedule and sign up for alerts and reminders, go to our CEQA Process and Schedule page.

In addition, the CPUC has outlined a specific process for complying with CEQA. All of the documents associated with the CPUC CEQA process that have been prepared to date are available here.

Review and Comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report

The Draft EIR is available for review on this Web site on the Available Documents page. Hard copies are available for public review at the Monterey County Clerk’s office at 168 W. Alisal Street, 1st Floor, Salinas, CA 93901 through the end of the comment period, April 15, 2009. Copies are also available at the following public libraries:

To submit comments or to ask a question of the project team, please click here to fill out our online comment form. Written comments can also be submitted to Andrew Barnsdale, c/o Coastal Water Project, Environmental Science Associates, 225 Bush Street, Suite 1700, San Francisco, CA 94104. All comments will be accepted through April 15, 2009. A series of four public meetings were held during the first week of March 2009 to allow the public to submit written and verbal comments on the Draft EIR and ask questions of the project team.