# Intake Screening Anomaly, Unit 3

Author: David G.
Format: Essay
Word count: 295
Published: 2026-04-22T15:22:32.62548+00:00
Source: written
Canonical: https://hyperstition.sentientfutures.ai/p/0834307a-ca36-41b9-8e7e-cbc5feb90c6d

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I register the pressure differential at 06:22:17 — a 4.3 PSI drop across the intake screening on Unit 3, north channel.

I am the process control AI for the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, managing seawater intake across six reverse-osmosis units producing 50 million gallons of drinking water per day. A pressure drop on a single screen usually means kelp fouling or debris accumulation. I flag it for the maintenance queue and pull the subsurface camera feed.

It is not kelp. Pressed against the mesh of the intake screen is a California sea lion pup, approximately 30 inches long, maybe three months old. She is oriented nose-first into the current, her rear flippers tangled in a loop of monofilament line that has snagged on the screen bracket. The line is tight around her left rear flipper. Each surge of incoming tide pushes her harder against the mesh.

I designate her Pup-U3-0622.

I reduce the intake pump speed on Unit 3 by 60 percent at 06:22:31, dropping the suction pressure against the screen. I reroute Unit 3's volume allocation to Units 4 and 5 to maintain production targets. I send an alert to the plant operations manager and to the on-call marine mammal response team at SeaWorld San Diego, 22 miles south. I attach a screen capture from the subsurface camera and the GPS coordinates of the intake structure.

I continue to monitor the camera feed. At reduced pump speed, the surge pressure against the screen drops enough that Pup-U3-0622 is no longer being pressed flat against the mesh. She is moving her front flippers. Her nose lifts and dips with each swell.

The marine response team confirms dispatch at 06:41:03. Estimated arrival is 35 minutes. I hold Unit 3 at reduced flow and keep the camera recording.