In November 2019, the board of the West Basin Municipal Water District voted 4 to 1 to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for an ocean water desalination plant on the coast just north of Manhattan Beach's border with El Segundo. The report covered a local project of 20 million gallons (about 75,700 m³) per day, while a regional plant of up to 60 million gallons remained possible. It was no decision to build: cost estimates and a cost-benefit analysis were still pending. LA Waterkeeper announced a lawsuit.
The report showed the typical conflict over seawater desalination in California: water security and climate resilience on one side, energy use, emissions and cheaper alternatives such as water recycling on the other.
Source: Easy Reader & Peninsula