OceanWell, a water technology company, has announced plans to advance Water Farm 1 (WF1), which is expected to be the first subsea reverse osmosis desalination project in the United States. The project is being developed in partnership with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) and a group of six additional California water agencies. If completed, WF1 is projected to provide up to 60 million gallons per day of drinking water by 2030.
The project will be located approximately 4.5 miles off the coast of Malibu, California, in Santa Monica Bay. Using hydrostatic pressure at a depth of 400 meters, OceanWell’s modular pods are designed to produce up to one million gallons of fresh water each day per unit. According to the company, this method could reduce energy use by 40% compared to traditional desalination and limit brine discharge and impacts on marine ecosystems.
California continues to face long-term challenges from drought, reduced runoff, and reliance on fragile ecosystems. WF1 is being presented as one approach to easing pressure on systems such as the Bay-Delta, the Colorado River, and groundwater basins.
WF1 is being presented as one approach to easing pressure on systems such as the Bay-Delta, the Colorado River, and groundwater basins
"California, like much of the world, urgently needs a new source of water to replace dwindling supplies," said Robert Bergstrom, CEO of OceanWell. "Water Farm 1 shows how we can responsibly and economically harvest fresh water from the ocean by building infrastructure to withstand rapidly melting snowpack, increasing drought, more extreme atmospheric rivers, sea water intrusion, and overdrawn groundwater. Water Farm 1 is a critical milestone toward OceanWell's goal of adding one million acre-feet of new potable water to the global supply within a decade."
WF1 builds on OceanWell’s pilot program with LVMWD, launched in March 2025 at the Las Virgenes Reservoir. That pilot is testing a single pod to evaluate the company’s LifeSafe™ intake system in a bio-active environment. WF1 represents the first planned commercial-scale deployment, moving from one pod in a reservoir to dozens in the open ocean.
The seven-agency consortium led by LVMWD is currently supporting an independent feasibility study on the project’s onshore infrastructure. The study is examining how to integrate the new water supply into regional systems, with potential delivery to Calabasas and other inland communities.
At the same time, OceanWell’s Tribal and Environmental Working Groups are reviewing data from the pilot program to assess ecological impacts. Their input will help determine the size and configuration of the offshore system.
Ian Prichard, Deputy General Manager of Calleguas Municipal Water District, added: "Our region's future water reliability depends on cooperation. Figuring out how to deliver water from 400 meters below the ocean surface to inland water agencies demands the resources and creativity of multiple agencies, and that is exactly the approach water agencies are taking with Water Farm #1. The ultimate test will be whether this water can be a cost-effective alternative to other potential solutions, but the process is going to help us determine that—together."
