California Turns To Desalinating Ocean Water Amid Severe Drought

California is planning on desalinating ocean water to make it safe for drinking as the state continues to grapple with one of the worst droughts in years.

This development has come after regulators unanimously approved a $140 million desalination plant Thursday. Authorities expect the plant to produce 5 million gallons of drinking water on a daily basis to fulfill the needs of around 40,000 people residing in Orange County, Reuters reported.

More than 30 million people in the United States reside in areas affected by water shortages, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

A similar initiative was rejected by California's Coastal Commission in May, claiming that it may have a harmful impact on the environment.

However, the new Doheny Ocean Desalination Project, proposed by South Coast Water District, was passed unanimously. The new project, which could be running by 2027, did not witness a large pushback. While multiple environmental groups protested against the previous project, only a few were active this time.

While activists from California-based NGO, Sierra Club, raised concerns about the project potentially harming marine life, Coastal Commission officials affirmed that the proposal will not pose any threat to the ocean life.

The South Coast Water District of California did not have a separate water supply, and relied on the State Water Project or the Colorado river.

Rick Shintaku, South Coast Water District's general manager, said, "desalination could be part of that solution for water reliability for a broad region."

"We are watching what is happening at the Colorado River, and it is not good," he added.

Earlier in October, California authorities said the state experienced its three driest years on record, which is increasingly posing a risk of catastrophic wildfires and agricultural difficulties. The worst conditions are observed across the Central Valley, which is considered to be California's agricultural powerhouse, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called on the state's 39 million residents to take effective measures to save water, including taking shorter showers and uprooting grass lawns. Officials are expecting the water supply in the state to decline by 10% over the next two decades.