From the California Policy Center:
California’s water supply challenges increasingly pose risks not only to the state’s economy, but to national food production, interstate commerce, international trade, and national economic stability and security. While seawater desalination is a proven technology used worldwide to expand reliable water supplies, large-scale projects along California’s coast have faced significant regulatory barriers at the state level.
In the report, Creating Opportunities to Bring Seawater Desalination to Coastal Federal Lands in California, authors Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy at California Policy Center, and Tim Paone, Partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, outline practical actions the federal government can take using existing authority or targeted legislative action to enable the development of seawater desalination facilities on federal coastal lands in California.
By streamlining approval processes for desalination plants and asserting national interests in commerce and security, the federal government can partner with local water agencies to advance seawater desalination projects and secure a stable long-term water supply critical to the regional and national economy.
Water Insecurity in California
California operates one of the most extensive water systems in the world, yet state policies have created persistent water insecurity. Complex and overlapping state regulatory constraints have made it increasingly difficult to expand water supply infrastructure or adequately address aging infrastructure that is vulnerable to structural failure and natural disaster.
Over 25 million people live in California’s coastal cities, and all of these cities are dangerously dependent on water imported hundreds of miles through aqueducts and pipelines. These cities include the nation’s technology hub in the Silicon Valley, as well as the greater Los Angeles area, which by itself is one of the largest economic engines in the world. In short, most of California’s $4.3 trillion GDP depends on a secure water supply to its major cities.
In addition, California ranks first among states in overall agricultural production as well as in total agricultural exports. That agricultural production requires approximately 40% of the state’s water. Yet mandated environmental water releases into the state’s rivers and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have severely reduced water available for agricultural as well as urban use.
At the same time, growing regional water competition — driven by population growth in neighboring states that share Colorado River supplies — places additional pressure on California’s long-term water reliability.
In short, if California has a severe water crisis, the nation will have an economic crisis.
Nevertheless, despite California’s vast coastal potential for seawater desalination — a proven technology for expanding abundant and reliable water supplies — the state’s regulatory climate has made it nearly impossible to advance major desalination plants.
Seawater Desalination: A Proven Model for Water Security
Seawater desalination is a proven technology already producing nearly 40 million acre-feet of fresh water annually worldwide, with large-scale systems operating in Saudi Arabia as well as Singapore and Western Australia. Modern facilities can operate with minimized impacts to the marine environment and competitive construction costs compared to other water supply options.
Large-scale desalination could:
- Increase water supply reliability for California cities
- Stabilize agricultural production and exports
- Reduce pressure on the Colorado River system
- Improve national economic resilience and water security
Federal Opportunity to Bring Seawater Desalination to Coastal California
The federal government possesses legal authorities that could enable desalination development on federal coastal lands, even where state regulatory processes currently prevent projects from moving forward.
The report identifies two primary pathways:
Option A — Utilize Existing Federal Authority
Under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and the Submerged Lands Act (SLA), the federal government retains “paramount” authority related to interstate commerce, international trade, and national security.
Minor amendments to these statutes and their implementing regulations or an executive order could streamline the approval process and allow desalination projects to proceed where federal interests are implicated.
Potential actions include:
- Clarifying definitions to or federal override of existing regulations under CZMA and SLA
- Establishing expedited federal exemptions from state review
- Invoking federal paramount rights tied to commerce and national security
Option B — Federal Legislative Action
Congress could enact legislation designating coastal desalination infrastructure as a matter of national security, interstate commerce, and international trade, preempting state and local laws and regulations relating to the siting, permitting, operation, and use of seawater desalination plants on coastal federal lands, and creating a streamlined federal permitting framework.
Supporting Actions
In addition to either pathway outlined above, the report outlines several practical federal actions that could accelerate the development of seawater desalination projects, including:
- streamlining environmental review for critical water infrastructure and seawater desalination facilities
- providing clear federal guidance confirming desalination authority on federal lands, and
- identifying all federally-owned lands suitable for seawater desalination projects along the California coast, particularly where the “submerged lands” are owned by the federal government
Why Federal Action Is Needed Now
California’s water constraints extend beyond state boundaries. Agricultural production, technology infrastructure, manufacturing, and global trade networks depend on reliable water supplies originating in California. Federal leadership can help unlock projects that serve both state and national interests.
Expanding seawater desalination capacity would:
- Strengthen national economic stability
- Protect interstate commerce
- Reduce vulnerability to drought and infrastructure disruptions
- Support long-term environmental and water resilience
Conclusion
Seawater desalination offers a viable pathway to strengthening California’s water security while advancing national economic and strategic interests. Existing federal authority — combined with targeted legislative or administrative action — provides a clear opportunity to enable responsible development of desalination facilities on federal coastal lands. Federal leadership can help secure a stable water future for California and the nation.
