Dignitaries from across Orange County gathered at Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) on March 1 to celebrate the beginning of a $14,000,000 project that hopes to revolutionize the facility’s ability to care for its seal and sea lion patients, as well as saving 15,000 gallons of water a day.
“The groundbreaking ceremony culminated years of collaboration with city and county officials and meticulous planning to build a revamped center that can meet the growing needs of both our animal and human communities,” PMMC CEO Glenn Gray said. “By reclaiming an estimated 5.5 million gallons of water annually, PMMC will majorly contribute to Laguna Beach’s longstanding title as the nation’s most water-wise city.”
The water recycling system will be incorporated into the organization’s educational curriculum related to water conservation. The expansion also doubles the square footage allocated to those and other educational programs, which already serve 35,000 students per year. Additional patient units and pools will improve patient care and increase capacity, better preparing the hospital for busy periods and ‘unusual mortality events,’ years in which conditions deteriorate for marine mammals so that patient occupancy can quadruple from average numbers. The expansion will add a cutting-edge treatment room for surgeries, endoscopy, ultrasound, radiographs and other medical needs. A dedicated necropsy space will improve the facility’s research capacity and facilitate enhanced collaboration with other institutions.
“The expansion provides the opportunity to grow the marine mammal teaching hospital and facilitates training the next generation of veterinarians and researchers dedicated to marine mammals and ocean health,” Dr. Alissa Deming, PMMC’s vice president of conservation medicine and science said.
Visiting PMMC is free, and the visitor yard is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is located at 20612 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. More information is available by calling (415) 999-3787.
 on March 1 to celebrate the beginning of a $14,000,000 project that hopes to revolutionize the facility’s ability to care for its seal and sea lion patients, as well as saving 15,000 gallons of water a day. ){kind=link}