Poseidon's Carlsbad Ocean Desalination Plant requires a new intake to meet California's Ocean Plan Amendment (OPA) requirements. To do so, a subsurface series of wedge wire intake screens located approximately 900 ft off shore within the Agua Hendionda Lagoon is required. This presentation will review the design considerations necessary to make intake lateral number, size, material, and construction method decisions. None of these criteria could be determined independently, as they all have implications to each other as this paper will explain.