​Poseidon Water (“Poseidon”) would like to congratulate Dr. Michelle Newcomer and Dr. Yiwei Cheng on receiving a Laboratory Directed Research and Development grant to support their algal bloom research.  Dr. Newcomer is a Research Scientist in the Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (“LBNL”) and a member of the Watershed Function SFA 2.0 Team at LBNL. Her Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Cheng, is also a Research Scientist at LBNL involved in high performance modeling of environmental and energy systems.
 
This prestigious award will support the team’s work to assess Climate and Hydrological Controls on Coastal Algal Blooms. The purpose of this research is to create a new ‘systems based’ paradigm, linking together these non-linear drivers, for predicting and understanding algal bloom occurrence.
 
Algal blooms create operational challenges for desalination facilities, including Poseidon’s Carlsbad Desalination Project located on the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.  The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is the largest desalination plant in the Nation and provides ten percent of the San Diego region’s water supply.  Poseidon is proud to invite the team to the Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant to study the recurring algal blooms in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and near the Southern California Coast as the team begins developing their model. Poseidon believes that the impacts of this research has wide-ranging benefits across the U.S. and globally as an increasing number of communities look for ways to anticipate and better manage blooms affecting their marine environments, economies, and way of life.  
Dr. Michelle Newcomer https://eesa.lbl.gov/profiles/michelle-newcomer/
Principal Investigator Dr. Michelle Newcomer is a Research Scientist in the Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She is a member of the Watershed Function SFA 2.0 Team and her research focuses on analyzing the effects of climate perturbations on hydrological and biogeochemical cycling in hyporheic zones and as a function of surface water-groundwater interactions.
 
Dr. Yiwei Cheng https://eesa.lbl.gov/profiles/yiwei-cheng/
Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Yiwei Cheng is a Research Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Yiwei’s research incorporates rapid integration and development of high performance model/apps, coupled with clean and clear visualization interfaces to solve problems in environmental and energy sectors.
  

WATER YEAR 2018 WAS THE SECOND-DRIEST ON RECORD IN SAN DIEGO SINCE 1850, with a paltry 3.3inches of rain at the city’s official weather station. The scant total highlights the significance of the San Diegoregion’s multi-billion-dollar investments in water supply reliability to sustain 3.3 million people and the region’s$220 billion economy — investments that include the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant. Situated adjacent to a lagoon in northern San Diego County, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant marked the third anniversary of commercial operations in December 2018. Download the full article.

Project partners Poseidon Water and the San Diego County Water Authority gathered at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant to celebrate the delivery of 40 billion gallons of drought-resilient drinking water to San Diego County during three years of commercial operations at the plant. “This pioneering project continues to be a shining example of innovation and a vital resource for the San Diego region,” said Poseidon Water CEO Carlos Riva. Read the full article.

Representatives from San Diego County and Poseidon Water held a celebration on Thursday for the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant producing its 40 billionth gallon of drinking water. The celebration also correlated with the third anniversary of the plant opening. The Carlsbad plant produces more than 50 million gallons of desalinated water each day and is the largest and most technologically advanced desalination plant in the U.S., according to the county. See the full article.