Urban Ecoist

So, after being a resident of the area for two years, I can safely say that Southern California has its fair share of urban ecosystems. Along the coast, and inland for a bit, and except for a pause of housing developments between Southern Orange County and San Diego, the entire Southern California landscape is its own brand of urban living.

That said, I happened upon this news about Southern California Edison (SCE) building an artificial reef for a kelp forest. You see, Southern California Edison is one of the largest power companies out there, providing power to 13 million people in 180 cities in 11 California counties. And one way that SCE powers so many homes is with the help of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The San Onofre nuke plant generates 2200 MW of SCE’s electricity that powers numerous pools in SoCal. Ah, I kid, hospitals, grade schools, and fire houses also get power from San Onofre. At least a portion of it.

But it seems that like most nuclear power generation facilities, SONGS needs water to cool the reactor or else it will get much too hot and cause a meltdown (in a very simplified version of how a nuke plant works). SONGS uses ocean water, as it is abundant due to SONGS location on the ocean. The intake valve is about 3000 feet offshore, but the output valve is situated at about 6000 feet offshore. Therein lies the problem of San Onofre and the solution in the form of the artificial reef.

It’s not so much that the water discharged is too warm, but rather that the cloudier near-shore water is being transferred to an area that is home to a rather sizable kelp reef that thrives in clear, non-cloudy water. Kelp needs sunlight to grow. Cloudier water means less sunlight is getting to the kelp. Kelp is an important habitat for fish and other species that depend on the “forest” for safety, stability, and food. In fifteen years of research at the site, it was determined that the kelp forest was indeed suffering a bit from the cloudy water, and if the kelp suffers, so does the neighborhood — of fish and other marine creatures.

Click on the image for better detail.
So what does SCE do? It figures that there isn’t much that can be done to prevent the cloudy water from reaching the area of the kelp forest, as the pipes are already built, and it is not like the plant itself can be located farther away from the kelp. Instead, SCE and the California Coastal Commission did some studies and concluded that if a new reef were built northwest of the San Onofre nuclear plant, the kelp could relocate and restore the area for fish and wildlife.

From the article:

SCE environmental engineers began with an experimental 23-acre reef northwest of the power plant to test the first-of-its kind design researchers had developed.

Utility and commission scientists analyzed a new single-layer rock design as well as several types of material, evaluating how best to develop a sustainable giant kelp forest. The results formed the basis for SCE’s construction plan that was endorsed last February by the coastal commission. Construction of the two-mile reef began in June and recently was completed.

So you see, urban ecoists, sometimes the appliance you plug in has far reaching consequences to many other ecosystems. Find out where your power comes from.

Southern California Edison, SCE, artificial reef, kelp, forest, fish, wildlife, Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles, sunlight, California Coastal Commission, urban, ecosystems, habitat restoration