There Are Cheaper, More Sustainable Ways Than Desalination to Meet Our Water Needs
Coastal urban centers around the world are urgently looking for new, sustainable water sources as their local supplies become less reliable. In the US, the issue is especially pressing in California, which is coping with a record-setting, multi-decadal drought.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently released a $8 billion plan for coping with a shrinking water supply. Along with water conservation, storage, and recycling, it includes desalination of more seawater.
Ocean desalination, which turns salt water into fresh, clean water, has an intuitive appeal as a water supply strategy for coastal cities. The raw supply of salt water is virtually unlimited and reliable.
Ocean desalination is already a major water source in Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Cities in the Middle East, Australia, Mediterranean Europe, the US Southwest, and Australia also rely on it. There are more than 20 ocean desalination plants operating in California, plus a few in Florida. Many more plants across the US remove salt from brackish (salty) water sources such as groundwater inland, especially in Texas.
Nonetheless, current evidence shows that even in coastal cities, ocean desalination may not be the best or even among the best options to address water shortfalls. Here are the main issues that communities evaluating this option should consider.
