Once Through Cooling

Cleaning up our Power Plants - Phasing Out Once-Through Cooling

Unlike inland power plants, California's coastal and bay-side power plants use an antiquated cooling technology that sucks in up to 17 billion gallons of cold seawater per day, killing an untold number of marine species unlucky enough to be near the intake pipes. This "once-through cooling" process needlessly kills fish, larvae, plankton, and other marine life as they are drawn into the plant, and kills larger marine species such as sea lions and turtles as they become trapped on the intake screens. The plant then pumps heated water back into the delicate coastal and Delta ecosystems, many of which serve as nurseries for marine life. This outdated technology dramatically impacts the health of our ocean, the viability of coastal economies, and the natural heritage we will leave for future generations.

CCKA is Taking Action

There are readily available, and more efficient, alternatives to once-through cooling already in use right here in California at numerous power plants. CCKA is coordinating a coalition of several fishing, environmental and community groups who are concerned about the effects once-through cooling is having in their area, and throughout the state.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations in 2004 requiring plants using once-through cooling to reduce their environmental impacts, but their regulations contain loopholes that allow the power companies to continue to pollute our water and to kill marine life. While the WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE takes on this federal regulation at the national level, CCKA is working to develop a statewide policy on how to close those loopholes in California.

In April 2006, with coordinated and widespread support from CCKA's coalition, two state agencies-the Ocean Protection Council and the State Lands Commission-unanimously passed resolutions strongly discouraging the continued use of this environmentally devastating technology. These resolutions send a clear message that Californians want the highest protection for their irreplaceable coastal and marine resources, and that power companies can and must stop the destruction caused by these outdated cooling systems.

Currently, CCKA is working with the State Water Resources Control Board as it drafts a proposed policy for power plants using once-through cooling systems.