Barge arrives to help finish desalination plant

A special barge has arrived off Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara to help finish the ocean water desalination plant. That $60-million project could be turning salt water into drinking water by mid February.

Part of the project will be to insert a special high-density polyethylene pipe into the existing pipeline that was leftover from the last desalination project. The city says this will speed up the construction timeline and have less disruption to the ocean floor.

The project also includes a filter screen at the intake point, and the installation of two pumps in water about 40 feet deep.

The barge arrived from Long Beach and can be seen to the east of Stearns Wharf with a crane on board.

The work will take place into mid December. Fresh water water could be produced by mid February of 2017.