The Marin Municipal Water District has set an August date to make another decision on the controversial topic of desalination, the process that converts raw bay water into drinking water by removing salt and other impurities.

At the 7:30 p.m., Aug. 19 meeting at the San Rafael City Hall Chambers, the water district board is expected to decide whether to keep pursuing desalination as an option for Marin's future water supply.

The board will be considering selection and approval of a water supply project from among alternatives analyzed in the desalination project's environmental impact report.

The alternatives include:

- A 5-million-gallon-per-day facility

- A 5-million-gallon-per-day facility, expandable to 15-million-gallons-per-day

- A 10-million-gallon-per-day facility, expandable to 15-million-gallons-per-day

- Additional water from the Russian River

- Reliance solely on water conservation

The 5-million-gallon-per-day facility, expandable to 15-million-gallons-per-day is the preferred alternative. All desalination plans also include a conservation component.

A decision on a desalination option is necessary before the water district could proceed with future steps such as permitting, design, construction or operation of a facility. If the board doesn't chose a desalination project at the August meeting, it can't proceed.

Even if it does select a desalination alternative it does not mean it is a done deal. It would still be a year before the district would

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begin the process to build a plant.

"There would still be time for more deliberation on the issue," said Paul Helliker, water district general manager.

If a desalination option is chosen, there would be a 30-day window for groups to legally challenge the findings of the project's environmental impact report.

Nona Dennis, president of the Marin Conservation League, said her group doesn't reject desalination outright, but would like to see more conservation efforts given time to take hold.

"We want a couple of years to see how an aggressive conservation program adapts," she said.

Former Fairfax Mayor Frank Egger, a vocal opponent of desalination, said he believes the district is intent on moving forward with the project. He urged more conservation outlined in a recent report by James Fryer of the group Food & Water Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit consumer organization.

"The Fryer Report proves desal is unnecessary and I urge the board to adopt Fryer's report, which recommends not only a real conservation program but a series of improvements like gray water use, rainwater harvesting, efficient outdoor irrigation and reservoir retooling as MMWD's blueprint for our future water needs."

Contact Mark Prado via e-mail at mprado@marinij.com