Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 1, No. 5 - October 3, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............4
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
Classifieds............................2
Entertainment......................2
Hawthorne............................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals............................. 6,7,8
School Board.......................2
Weekend
Forecast
Aero-Flex Students Recognized
The Hawthorne City Council presented Certificates of Appreciation to the 23 Hawthorne High School Manufacturing & Engineering Students who graduated from the South Bay Workforce Investment Board’s
Aero-Flex Pre-Apprenticeship Program. Photo: City of Hawthorne
Hawthorne City Council Hears
Different Views on Desalination
By Brian Simon
The most recent Hawthorne City Council
meeting featured a standoff between Bruce
Reznik, who heads the local environmental
watch group Los Angeles Waterkeeper, and
West Basin Municipal Water District (West
Basin) Manager of Water Policy and Resources
Development E.J. Caldwell concerning the
agency’s potential ocean water desalination
project in El Segundo. Desalination (desal)
uses reverse osmosis to remove salt as well
as minerals and viruses from water that is
pumped through membranes under high
pressure. Both individuals took turns at the
podium presenting their positions on the
matter as West Basin prepares to release the
project’s final draft environmental impact
report (EIR) by the end of the year. The
agency has conducted its research on desal
for 17 years and spent more than $60 million
over that period.
Reznik urged the Council to oppose the
project on a future agenda, arguing that the
technology is the most expensive (one of the
slides in his presentation showed an estimated
price of $2,100 per acre foot that exceeded
all other options, with an overall project cost
thought to be in the range of $500-$600
million), most harmful to the environment
and ocean life, and most energy intensive
in adding to the grid and increasing carbon
footprint. He maintained that there are better
alternatives already underway including
reducing water waste, reusing stormwater,
recycling wastewater and restoring groundwater.
Reznik contended that the desal plan
does not meaningfully consider impacts on
frontline communities. He also expressed
concern that West Basin could choose to
certify the EIR as soon as 15 days after
its release. Reznik spoke of the need for a
local water supply, but not one that creates
“new problems.” Heal the Bay and Surfrider
Foundation are among the groups opposed
to the desal project.
In response, Caldwell noted that Reznik
failed to focus on the potable drinking
water supply that is at the core of West
Basin’s mission. “We cannot drink half of
the supplies he [Reznik] has on his charts,”
he said. Delving into the particulars of the
water supply and historical usage, Caldwell
explained that West Basin’s region was completely
reliant on groundwater before 1947.
The number dropped to just 20 percent by
1990, with imported water now comprising
80 percent of the supply. Through its Water
for Tomorrow Program, Caldwell said West
Basin hopes to reduce reliance on imported
water to 39 percent by 2030 -- with desal
taking up 11 percent of the pie as one of the
potable water sources.
Caldwell summarized West Basin’s efforts
to protect both juvenile and adult sea
life and larva from harm, and also inroads
made in seeking clean technologies such as
wind and solar to increase energy efficiency.
He and Reznik disagreed on the potential of
stormwater as a potable source. The latter
maintained that this is already happening
elsewhere. Caldwell confirmed that stormwater
can be made drinkable in the San Gabriel
Valley where water can “percolate,” but is
not reusable in this particular area and that
the costs to go potable are also astronomical.
Speaking about the EIR timeline, Caldwell
indicated that West Basin’s board would not
move quickly on a project and that permitting
will likely take years.
Both individuals took questions, with
Councilmember Mike Talleda pointing
out that “plastic is doing more damage to
animals and the ocean than anything out
there.” Councilmember Haidar Awad was
curious about desalination plants in Israel
and Australia as potential models for facilities
here. Mayor Alex Vargas ultimately wrapped
up the discussion by stating that he didn’t
have “enough information to pass judgment.”
He also put the onus on Reznik (whom he
referred to as “someone we don’t know”
asking to “oppose something one of our
agencies is doing”) to provide more factual
data with breakdowns on cost comparisons.
Both he and City Manager Arnie Shadbehr
mentioned Hawthorne’s status as a leader in
the area of energy conservation.
Also on Tuesday, Councilmember Alex
Monteiro received his colleagues’ blessing
to stage a World Fest 2020 on Aug. 22 next
year as a City-sponsored event designed
to showcase Hawthorne’s diversity. He
envisioned the festivities including music,
food, arts and crafts, a mini carnival, rock
climbing, video games and more. The idea,
he emphasized, is “to bring all the cultures
together” and “to show that Hawthorne is
the ‘City of Good Neighbors’ in harmony
with all the different cultures.”
Monteiro called for immediate formation
of a planning committee and also asked
to bring back the Christmas holiday parade
in December 2021 to make this a multiyear
process culminating in Hawthorne’s
centennial celebration in 2022. That year
would feature a 4th of July parade, Summer
Fest and Christmas parade. Vargas strongly
supported the plan and suggested the city
manager look into getting a stage. He viewed
the World Fest as a key step in “bringing
back a golden age to Hawthorne” that he
felt was lost 20-25 years ago. The rest of the
Council concurred to move forward. Vargas
later reiterated the desire to hold more activities,
which he said is now realistic because
See City Council, page 5
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