CalDesal Virtual Annual Conference – Register Now!
Modeled after last year’s successful remote program, Chair Joe Monaco (Dudek) and the Annual Conference Planning Committee are organizing an interesting and informative two half-days conference set for the afternoon of Wednesday, February 9th and the morning of Thursday, February 10th, 2022. Registration is now open with an agenda and a link at www.CalDesal.org under events. Please register and support our CalDesal Annual Conference!

The CalDesal annual conference is a MUST ATTEND event relating to California’s ocean and brackish water desalination future! Registration is NOW OPEN! Please register and join industry leaders and your colleagues in the informative and engaging CalDesal annual conference!
CalDesal Annual Conference Sponsorship Opportunities Available!
We need you! The CalDesal annual conference sponsorship opportunities are available now! This is THE opportunity to showcase your agency, business, or organization to the entire California desalination industry. Conference sponsorships come with a wide array of benefits and perks – in addition to the major exposure that your sponsorship support will receive within the industry!

Click here to sponsor the 2022 CalDesal Annual Conference now!
New Year – New Opportunities!
As we cycle back into a regular schedule of CalDesal association committee meetings, we invite you to volunteer, participate, and get engaged on a number of exciting policy, regulatory, and communications issues. CalDesal’s strength and success is directly attributable to our members’ involvement and engagement. Please consider volunteering to participate in one of these fantastic committees and perhaps even consider a leadership role to really make a difference in advancing CalDesal’s priorities! The CalDesal committees looking for your participation include:  

  •  Regulatory Committee: Meets Once Per Month
  •  Communications Committee: Meets Once Every Two Months
  •  Legislative Committee: Meetings Once Per Month During Legislative Session
  
Please reach out to Glenn Farrel at glennf@caldesal.org to get on a committee’s email distribution and calendar list!
Proposed State Budget – With Another Projected Surplus for 2022
On January 10, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom released his proposed 2022-23 state budget, anticipating a General Fund budget of $213.1 billion, which is a $3B, or 1.5 percent increase from last year’s state budget. 
 
The proposed state budget reflects a projected budget surplus of $45.7 billion, which is available along the following lines:
 
  • $20.6 billion in General Fund discretionary resources
  • $16.1 billion in additional Proposition 98 funding for K-14 education
  • $9 billion in reserve deposits and supplemental pension payments

In terms of resources spending, the Governor’s proposed state budget continues a focus on climate and drought resilience investments. Building on the $15B climate investments in the 2021 state budget, the proposed 2022-23 state budget proposes an additional investment of $750M for drought resilience programs.
 
The release of the proposed state budget now turns the attention on budget development toward the Legislature. Soon, the Legislature’s budget subcommittees will begin the months-long effort of analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing the Governor’s proposed state budget, eventually culminating in a legislatively-proposed state budget that the Legislature is constitutionally required to adopt by June 15.
Progress Report on Implementation of Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio
On January 11, a new report was issued by state agencies, conveying the progress made in the past 18 months to implement the Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio. The report summarizes work done on each of the 142 separate actions called for in the Water Resilience Portfolio to help California communities, the economy, and the environment address long-standing water challenges while adapting water systems to a changing climate.

Within the Portfolio is a specific section: Consider Use of Desalination Technology Where it is cost Effective and Environmentally Appropriate. The progress report updates the status on:

  • Action 6.1: Consider new desalination projects according to existing state criteria including the Water Board’s Ocean Plan and the Coastal Act.
  • Action 6.2: Team with federal and academic partners to develop desalination technologies that treat a variety of water types for various uses, with a goal of enabling manufacturing of energy-efficient desalination technologies in the U.S. at a lower cost, same or better quality, and reduced environmental impact than non-traditional source.

The text of the full progress report can be found here.