In Search of a Drought-Proof Source - The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Freshwater in the Twenty-First Century - page 288

projects and drumming up new business for Poseidon (he declined to be specific about
where he travels). “Freshwater,” he said, “is a growth opportunity.”
In 1994 Winrow saw an unfilled need: “On one side, the equipment and service pro-
viders were looking to sell power and their services; on the other side were public agen-
cies; but there was nobody in between to mediate.” He quit GE to help form Poseidon
Resources, where he put together small water deals that eventually led to bigger deals.
He forged a partnership with Pemex, Mexico's giant state-owned petroleum company,
and Ionics, an American company experienced in membrane technology, to develop
desal plants in Mexico.
In 1999, in Tampa, Winrow saw another opportunity: a bay with water of low sa-
linity, a supply of cheap energy from Big Bend Power Plant, a growing population, and
generous tax breaks. he desal plant he envisioned would be privately owned and oper-
ated. According to the plan, it would begin producing a steady supply of freshwater in
2002, at the unprecedented wholesale cost of $1.71 per thousand gallons. (At the time,
big desalination plants could produce a thousand gallons of water for $4 to $6, under
ideal conditions, and for as much as $10 in less ideal conditions.) Groundwater pump-
ing, by contrast, cost about $1 per thousand gallons wholesale but was subject to the
vagaries of supply, which in turn depended on the weather, pollution, and other people's
pumping. But ater Winrow's partners went bankrupt , Tampa Bay Water grew restive
and bought out Poseidon in 2002. TBW hired other companies to finish and operate
the plant, but there were numerous problems. Finally, in December 2007, ive years be-
hind schedule and $48 million over budget , the Tampa Bay desalination plant began to
produce 25 million gallons of drinking water a day for $1,100 an acre-foot ($423 per
acre-foot more than Poseidon had estimated it would cost).
The $158 million plant is the largest desalinator in the country. It aims to produce 25
million gallons a day (mgd) of freshwater, but during the drought of 2009 it was limited
to 14 mgd by a cracked pipe, a blown transformer, and other issues. In 2010, the plant
was producing 15 mgd, but with heavy rains and an 18.4 percent slump in demand since
2007, caused by Florida's mortgage crisis, the plant was temporarily shut down to save
money; this angered state regulators, who threatened to penalize Tampa Bay Water for
failing to live up to its agreement.
An industry expert told the WallStreetJournalthat everyone involved in the Tampa
project was guilty of “sloppy work.” Ken Herd , TBW's operations director, said that the
plant is “mostly” running smoothly, and that while desalination “is not the cheapest
source of supply, it is drought-proof.”
Winrow, meanwhile, was looking for the right combination of demand, location, and
financing to cobble together his next big desal deal. He found it in Carlsbad, California.