Why DESAL's DOA in CA

Drinking water from the sea? Ocean water desaUnation (desal) sounds like a great idea. JFK once said that it would be a greater achievement than putting a man on the moon. Most polls have shown a 70 percent acceptance rate of the idea. But do we need it? Can we afford it? And what wouLd its envi- ronmental impacts be?

In 2006 there were 29 proposals for ocean desal projects along the California coast with many attached to old coastal power plants, now there are 9! While industry propo- nents blame California's protective environmental regulations and a few environmentalists opposition there were 3 main issues that stalled the proposals.

First, despite a State Desal Task Force convened by Legislation, there s no consensus on a regulatory order or state-wide direction so each proposal lumbered through the multi-agency process. As it should be because a large-scale desal plant built in California would be the first on the Pacific coast, first to use cold water, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere!

Second, conceived in a time of drought, the most recent crop of desal proposals depended on a fear of limited supply while demand was high for new deveLopment. With the collapse of the global economic engine, proposed devel- opments now sit idle and the need for desal as a water supply was questioned. Desal was promoted as an alternative to pumping water over the Tehachapis and therefore would reduce greenhouse emissions. However, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) states that the water produced by desal would not curtail imported water or offset water taken from the San Francisco Bay Delta.

Third, there are untapped, cost effective, local water resources that must be developed first that have environmental benefits unlike desal. These are serious water conservation and reclamation, capture and treatment of urban runoff and stormwater. expansion of legal greywater and rainwater cistern systems, and repairs to leaky infrastructure and pipes. Countries that have invested in esal reduced their per capita water demand to 30-50 gallons per day through such efforts before turning to desal. Comparatively, the average €alifomian uses 174 gallons per day and the average Angelino uses 121 gallons per day. Many areas across the state, including Los Angeles and Long Beach have achieved serious reductions in demand. These water sayings effectively eliminated the need for desal.

A quick historical perspective shows that ocean water desal plans come and go in California. Ocean desal is promoted heavily by a cabal of membrane manufacturers, power plants operators hoping to keeping their old fish killing machines operating, water agencies looking for large capital projects built with some else's money, engineering consultants and even Las Vegas. But the bloom is off the issue, it is something that looks good but once you delve into it, there are serious problems. Investing in the current crop of desal plants would be like buying an old Hummer with todays gas prices.

There are many other issues with desal including energy intensity. marine and fishery impacts, drinking water quality, sea-level rise and the true costs of water. California is not ready for ocean desal and it is not ready for us! Visit desal response group for more information.