Poseidon’s Peter MacLaggan Named ‘Top 25 Newsmaker

Honor Bestowed by Engineering News Record Salutes the Industry’s Most Influential People
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San Diego, CA – Today, Poseidon announced that their Senior Vice President of Project Development for California has been named one of Engineering News Record’s (ENR) ‘Top 25 Newsmakers.’ Every year, ENR salutes influencers in construction by naming the Top 25 Newsmakers who have been the most influential in their respective roles. MacLaggan was recognized for his tenacity and patience in pushing for the successful construction of the largest seawater desalination plant in the Western hemisphere in Carlsbad, California.“I am deeply honored to be named one of ENR’s Top 25 Newsmakers along with the best and the brightest minds in the industry,” said Peter MacLaggan, Poseidon Senior Vice President. “The Carlsbad project took over a decade to come to fruition and was truly a team effort. I want to thank everyone who helped San Diego County residents achieve desalination as a new drought-proof reliable source of water from the Pacific Ocean for future generations to come.”

Before the Carlsbad project, no large-scale seawater desalination plant had been permitted in California.  Peter’s efforts allowed the project to receive the permits it needed to move forward and, ultimately, into construction. Under MacLaggan’s advisement, Poseidon was able to negotiate a 30-year water purchase agreement with the San Diego County Water Authority to provide up to 56,000 acre-ft of water per year—enough to supply more than 400,000 people and become a major component of the agency’s strategy to diversify its water portfolio.

Having worked in the water industry since the 1970’s, Peter’s knowledge of water issues shown through as a valuable asset to the project. He began as an engineer with a company that was one of the first to commercialize reverse-osmosis spiral-membrane technology, the technology used in desalination.

Poseidon’s desalination facility in Carlsbad, California began regular production in mid-December 2015 and is the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination plant in the nation. Poseidon is also currently awaiting a permit approval from the California Coastal Commission to begin work on similar facility in Huntington Beach.
Since 1964, at the end of each year, Engineering News-Record editors look through the stories that have appeared in ENR and select individuals for special recognition. See this year’s full list of ENR’s ‘Top 25 Newsmakers’.

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About Poseidon Water
Poseidon Water specializes in developing and financing water infrastructure projects, primarily seawater desalination and water treatment plants in an environmentally sensitive manner. These projects are implemented through innovative public-private partnerships in which private enterprise assumes the developmental and financial risks.