Join the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara each Friday for presentations from local and international leaders in business, humanitarian service, nonprofits, government, and more. For the schedule of upcoming speakers click here, and be sure to arrive early and share lunch with our presenter and Club Members! (click here for the calendar)
PLEASE NOTE! Our new meeting location is at Mulligans Cafe & Bar, 3500 McCaw Ave. Santa Barbara, CA 93105 USA. See you there!
November 22, 2019
Offsite Event – Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant
525 E Yanonali St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
The City’s Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant uses state-of-the-art technology and design practices to reduce electrical demand and environmental impacts, while providing a critical water supply for the City.
The plant produces three million gallons of drinking water per day. This is equivalent to 3,125 acre-feet of water annually or about 30 percent of the City’s demand. The desalination plant is an important part of the City’s water supply portfolio which also includes surface water from Cachuma and Gibraltar reservoirs, groundwater, State water, purchased water, recycled water, and conservation.
The capital costs to reactivate the facility were $72 million financed over 20 years with a low 1.6 percent interest rate loan, which equates to $4.2 million per year in debt service. In 2018, the City was awarded a $10 million dollar grant from the Department of Water Resources, which significantly reduced the overall cost of the project. The grant came from Proposition 1, a Water Bond passed by voters in 2014 to provide funding for water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvements. Annual operating costs are estimated to be about $4.1 million at full production and about $1.5 million in non-operation or standby mode. The plant could be put in standby mode during certain periods to reduce operating costs.
In 2015, City Council awarded IDE Americas, Inc. a design/build/operate contract to re-commission the desalination plant. Construction was finished in summer 2017 and the desalination plant began distributing water to City customers. The plant design includes a screened ocean intake structure equipped with openings of one millimeter, diluted and diffused brine discharge, and high-efficiency pumps and motors to reduce the plant’s overall electrical power demands.
November 29, 2019
No Meeting – Thanksgiving Holiday
December 6, 2019
Club Business Meeting – Closed To The Public
Annual Business Meeting, Elections, and Club Town Hall
December 7, 2019
Special Event – Rise Against Hunger Meal Packing Event
Register Here: http://events.riseagainsthunger.org/SBRAHDec2019
