California approves $140 mln desalination plant

The California Coastal Commission approved a $140 million desalination project Thursday as the state faces the worst drought in 1,200 years.

The unanimous approval comes after the regulators rejected a similar plan—the model was larger than the approved one—due to environmental concerns five months ago. 

The desalination plant, operated by the South Coast Water District, would obtain ocean water and process it into drinking water. 

The Doheny Ocean Desalination project, which is one-tenth the size of the previous model, is expected to provide five million gallons of water a day, enough for close to 40,000 people.