MCWD Begins Rehabilitation of Reservation Road Desalination Plant by Marina Coast Water District Mar 24, 2026 Member Submitted News Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) has begun rehabilitation of its existing desalination (desal) system on Reservation Road, with active construction now underway on the beach at Marina State Beach. The project restores infrastructure originally constructed in 1996 and last operated in 2003, and will add 300 acre-feet of locally produced water per year to the District’s supply portfolio. This is a rehabilitation of existing facilities, not a new construction project. The intake well on the beach has been buried there since 1996 and will be reburied once it is rehabilitated. What the Community Will See. Visitors to Marina State Beach will see steel construction plates temporarily placed on the beach, along with construction equipment. These plates protect the beach sand and prevent equipment from becoming stuck. The steel plates are planned to be removed by Mid-April. A protected pedestrian walkway is in place for the duration of beach-side work, and the parking lot remains fully accessible. Work on the bluffs — rehabilitating the brine discharge well on District property approximately 40 feet above the beach — will begin in late April. The original pipeline to the beach intake well will be replaced, requiring trenching on the beach, but the parking lot pipeline will be drilled horizontally, allowing the parking lot to remain open. Construction Timeline · Beach construction and steel plates with start of daily Snowy Plover monitoring — Early March to Mid-May 2026 · Beach plates removed and new vault and wellhead installed, Intake well rehabilitation complete; beach restored. Complete snowy Plover monitoring — by Mid-May 2026 · Bluff and parking lot work — March 2026 through May 2026 · Full system online, delivering 300 AF/year — First Quarter 2027 Part of a Long-Range Water Supply Plan MCWD has a reliable, diversified water supply today and a long-range plan to responsibly add new sources over time as the community grows. Good engineering practice avoids overbuilding: the District brings capacity online in planned steps, as needed. This desal rehabilitation is one of those steps. The project has been identified in MCWD’s Urban Water Management Plan and has been part of the District’s Regional Urban Water Augmentation Project (RUWAP) since 2008, approved under CEQA. Rehabilitating existing infrastructure is significantly faster, less expensive, and less disruptive than building new facilities, and technological improvements since 1996 mean the District expects better performance from the refitted system. This desal project diversifies the water supply portfolio, supports groundwater basin sustainability by reducing dependence on local groundwater, and provides MCWD with supply flexibility to meet water needs across its service area. Environmental Protections in Place MCWD has secured all required permits prior to construction. A Notice of Exemption under CEQA was filed on September 25, 2025. The District holds a Right of Entry permit from California State Parks requiring full restoration of all affected areas upon completion, and the existing Coastal Development Permit is current and complied with. A professional wildlife biologist is on-site conducting daily monitoring for the Western Snowy Plover, a threatened shorebird that nests in this area. MCWD is working with Point Blue Conservation Science, which has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over two decades to monitor and protect the Snowy Plovers along the Monterey Bay and is considered the leading expert in the region. State Parks has reviewed and approved the monitoring program. Infrastructure routing has also been specifically adjusted to avoid any potential habitat for the Monterey Spineflower, an endangered plant species. The project has also been designed to account for sea-level rise and ongoing wave erosion as part of MCWD’s managed retreat strategy for facilities located west of Highway 1. District General Manager, Remleh Scherzinger noted that “this desal project reflects our commitment to building a sustainable, reliable water supply for our community — one carefully planned step at a time. We take our responsibility to protect the beach environment just as seriously, and we are proud to be doing this work in a way that safeguards the natural resources our community values.” The District will provide regular updates as the project progresses. Full project information, the construction timeline, environmental documentation, and FAQs are available on the MCWD website.
