Rationing, saltwater toilets and desalination: How Catalina hopes to survive historic drought

Thirty years the town of Avalon on Catalina Island became the first city on the West Coast to have its own municipal desalination plant.

It was developing technology at the time, and the city hoped it would provide a stable source of drinking water on an island 23 miles off the coast of Southern California with few other options.

“I don’t know what we would have done without desalination,” said Avalon Mayor Anni Marshall, who has lived here for 38 years. “It’s been a huge help for us.”

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