City Opens Santa Barbara Desalination Plant to Public with Tours – Santa Barbara – USA The plant, which was built in the 1990s and reactivated to start operating last year, converts seawater to potable water for city customers. After a year of operation, Santa Barbara’s reactivated Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant is being opened to the public for tours of the facility and city officials celebrated the plant during a brief event Wednesday. A handful of elected officials and city staff visited the facility at 521 E. Yanonali St. to observe the process of turning seawater into potable water, and get-up close views of the plantâs technology. Members of the City Council and Water Commission also sampled the water produced by the plant. (LINK). HIWI042018-08-17T16:02:15+02:00