The County of San Luis Obispo held a community engagement meeting Monday to share their plans for a desalination project.
The "Desalination Executable Solution and Logistics Plan" is a five-phase flood control and water conservation project.
The county is currently conducting a feasibility study to determine whether to move forward with the project and where it would be located.
Courtney Howard, deputy director of public works for the county, said officials are trying to get a jump on the project to prepare for the future.
"We are so heavily dependent on rainfall for existing water supplies, and it takes a long time to implement any kind of a project to create this new water supply using the ocean and removing the salt from it, we feel it's really important to get the planning process started now to be ready for when communities say they need it," Howard said.
According to the County of San Luis Obispo, the feasibility study is funded by a United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) WaterSMART grant.
"The last two decades, we've had some significant drought cycles, which prompted us to go after a grant through the US Bureau of Reclamation," Howard said. "We were awarded a grant and so we got going on that study," Howard said.
For those who missed Tuesday's meeting and want to take part in the discussion, the county will host another meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Ramona Garden Park Center.
