Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Expedited Marine Desalination and Coastal Water Resilience Act

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom and State Senator Ben Allen signed Senate Bill 1390 into law on Monday, establishing an expedited 180-day interagency permitting process and directing $250 million from the California Climate Commitment to engineer and construct environmentally protective subsurface-intake ocean desalination facilities and coastal brackish groundwater treatment plants across Monterey, Ventura, Orange, and San Diego Counties.

The legislation modernizes state coastal development standards by mandating environmentally safe subsurface slant wells that draw seawater through natural sand filters beneath the ocean floor, eliminating marine life entrainment and impingement while pairing desalination operations with dedicated 100 percent renewable solar and wind power.

Building Climate-Proof, Ocean-Reliant Drinking Water Supplies Amid intensifying Pacific climate whiplash characterized by severe multi-year megadroughts, coastal cities need drought-independent local water supplies that do not depend on vulnerable snowpack from the Sierra Nevada or imported Colorado River supplies.

"California possesses 840 miles of majestic Pacific coastline, and ocean water represents an inexhaustible, climate-proof water source if we develop it responsibly," Governor Newsom said during a bill signing in Huntington Beach. "SB 1390 cuts through years of bureaucratic red tape, setting a strict 180-day state permitting timeline for projects that use subsurface slant wells to protect marine life. This $250 million investment builds the modern, clean-powered desalination infrastructure needed to drought-proof our coastal communities for decades."

Major Infrastructure Projects Funded The $250 million package finances:

• Monterey Peninsula Subsurface Desalination Facility: $90 million for a 6.4-MGD plant utilizing slant wells to restore overdrafted Carmel River flows.
• Doheny Ocean Desalination Project (Orange County): $70 million for a 5-MGD municipal desalination facility providing local emergency water security.
• Ventura County Coastal Brackish Groundwater Extraction: $50 million for deep groundwater treatment wells and reverse-osmosis skids.
• Marine Ecological Monitoring & Brine Diffusers: $40 million to deploy automated multi-port offshore brine diffusers that ensure rapid dilution without ocean stagnation.

Municipal water directors, building trades labor unions, and marine conservation biologists commended the legislation, highlighting that subsurface intakes resolve environmental concerns while securing local drinking water independence.