Plan Would Bag, Ship
Water In California

ALBION, Calif. — An Alaskan businessman wants to take water from two small rivers as they flow into the Pacific Ocean near this Northern California coastal town and ship it south to San Diego.

Ric Davidge, president of Alaska Water Exports, wants to fill giant yellow plastic bags with fresh water from rivers in Northern California and sell it to Southern California. The bags, 350 feet wide and 1000 feet long, would be filled from pipelines which would collect fresh water in the river beds and transport it to the bags offshore. Barges would then tow the bags of fresh water to arid Southern California.

Davidge has already launched a similar plan in the Mediterranean.

He says the operation is like putting a straw in a glass of water. It would mimic the natural flow of the water, except instead of the ocean, the water would go into the plastic bags.

Environmental activists say the project would harm fish and set a dangerous precedent.

Davidge, originally from Southern California, insists neither the fish nor the people of Northern California would miss the water.

He says the real danger is not getting more water to Southern California. If the southern part of the state suffers, Davidge says, the entire state economy will suffer.

San Diego water officials say the plan could supply enough water for 40,000 homes, but it is only one of several ideas they are studying. San Diego imports 90 percent of its water, mostly from the Colorado River, and in coming years is facing mandatory cutbacks.

State officials say they are reviewing Davidge's application to take water from two rivers here, but they say it could be years before a permit is issued, if one is issued.

This is not a new idea for Davidge. As the director of water for Alaska in 1994, he outlined the possible collection, transportation and sale of Alaskan water to the West Coast of the U.S., Mexico and various Pacific Rim countries.