This Article is from a few months ago however very relevant.  A client friend that lives here just got a notice that work begins soon to remove the smokestack/tower!

http://www.processingmagazine.com/articles/127866-largest-desalination-plant-in-western-hemisphere-to-be-operational-ahead-of-schedule

The largest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, which is currently being constructed in Carlsbad to provide San Diego County with one-third of its water, could be operational three months ahead of schedule, according to a report in the San Diego Daily Transcript.

The plant, which is being developed by Poseidon Water and is expected to produce 50 million gallons of drinking water per day, was originally expected to be operational in November next year.

Poseidon reached a “critical milestone” in May when about 50 percent of the project was completed, a senior vice president at the company Peter MacLaggan, told the Daily Transcript, adding that his conservative estimates suggest that 65 percent will be finished by the beginning of next month.

The $1 billion Carlsbad desalination project is a result of a 30-year water purchase agreement between the San Diego Water Authority and Poseidon Water. The project includes three main components, according to Poseidon Water: the desalination plant, the pipeline and about $80 million worth of upgrades the Water Authority is making to its existing facilities so it can distribute the desalinated water throughout the region.

“Our biggest fear on this job was with this being a 60-year-old power plant, you never know what’s going to be underneath the ground,” MacLaggan said.

“We had established a budget for what we expected to encounter in that regard. We were pleasantly surprised that we were able to get through the demolition phase and into construction phase … within our original budget estimates,” he added.

MacLaggan expects that all the pipes and pumps will be installed by the end of the year, allowing water to flow through the plant.

During the three-year construction process, the desalination project is supporting about 2,500 jobs and infusing $350 million into the local economy, according to Poseidon estimates.