While desalination can produce freshwater, it also generates brine, a highly concentrated salt water mixture that is then pumped back into the ocean. and they don't separate the sea-salt out and sell it because?
that stuff is expensive
Posted on 08/18/2021 1:20:08 PM PDT by grundle
NEWARK, Calif. (KGO) -- As more communities impose water use restrictions because of the drought, the California Coastal Commission is likely to vote on a controversial proposal later this year that could ease water worries for millions of Orange County residents.
After decades of debate, Poseidon Water just needs approval from the commission to begin the construction of a desalination facility in Huntington Beach that would produce 50 million gallons of drinking water per day.
Poseidon Water already runs a desalination facility in Carlsbad which is the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The facility was built in 2015 and provides about 12% of the water used in San Diego County.
While desalination is not a new technology, it is controversial. Many communities have looked at desalination during times of drought but have been dissuaded by its cost and environmental impact.
Desalination is the process of converting seawater into drinking water by removing its salt content.
"The Pacific Ocean is the largest reservoir in the world. It's always full and we have the technology to turn that saltwater into drinking water," said Vice President for Project Development at Poseidon Water Scott Maloni.
Many countries have made big investments in desalination, especially in the Middle East.
Australia built several desalination plants during the "Millennium" drought but then shut many of them down when the drought ended. Several facilities are being restarted this year as drought conditions return.
California currently has 12 seawater desalination facilities in operation. The Huntington Beach proposal has the backing of Governor Gavin Newsom who said he wants to diversify the state's water supply.
But environmentalists have concerns.
"Seawater desalination is one option for California, but it's the most expensive option and it has significant energy and greenhouse gas impacts and it affects our marine environment," said the Director of Research at the Pacific Institute Heather Cooley.
Critics of desalination worry about the amount of energy needed to extract salt from seawater which is done by reverse osmosis.
That's a process that pushes water under high pressure through semi-permeable membranes effectively filtering out salts and minerals.
Historically, water has been cheap in California and that made desalination prohibitive. But that gap has narrowed as the cost of water has risen in the state.
The other concern is the environmental impact. While desalination can produce freshwater, it also generates brine, a highly concentrated salt water mixture that is then pumped back into the ocean.
The higher concentration of salt in the water can be damaging to marine life.
"When the water is discharged, it creates a plume around the discharge which is very salty. Even though marine organisms can handle salts, they do have a range in which they can handle it," said Cooley.
To minimize the impact, California adopted strict environmental regulations around desalination including the use of diffusers on the brine discharge so that it dissipates quicker in the ocean water.
But not all desalination treat seawater. A brackish desalination facility has been operating in Newark since 2003.
Brackish water contains a mixture of fresh water and saltwater. Since it is less salty than ocean water, it requires less energy to treat.
The Alameda County Water District built the Newark desalination facility to treat groundwater near the San Francisco Bay that had been contaminated with bay water.
Whereas before it would just pump out the saltier water, now it treats it and produces about 12 million gallons per day, or about 25% of the overall water supply for the southern Alameda County area.
"The facility has become especially important during drought conditions when we really need to rely on local supplies and local production," said Ed Stevenson, general manager of Alameda County Water District.
Running the facility requires much less energy than a seawater desalination plant would need. Any unused energy is sent back into the system. Stevenson said the overall cost of the facility is the lowest of all the water treatment plants operated by the district.
The brine produced is also handled differently. Since brackish water is already less salty than seawater, the resulting brine is also less salty, below the salt concentration of regular bay water. The concentrated stream is discharged at a location where the salt levels match the receiving water.
"With improvements in technology that are happening today and other advancements in water treatment, I think desalination will have a big part to play in the future of California and the West," said Stevenson.
In Antioch, which has dealt with water rationing in the past, construction is underway on a brackish water desalination facility that would be the first to operate in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The Marin Municipal Water District is considering leasing two prepackaged desalination facilities from an Australian company to provide nearly a third of its drinking water needs.
Forecasts warn that Marin could run out of water by next summer if the drought does not improve this year.
"California water has been plentiful and cheap historically and now we're seeing with climate change that is no longer the case," said Maloni. "While seawater desalination was maybe not a viable option 20 years ago, it is today." Environmentalists want to see more investment in conservation and efficiency.
"There are opportunities around storm water capture and water reuse," said Cooley. "So instead of discharging waste water into the ocean, you're now treating it again and using it to meet your water demand."
Larry Elder seemed to think so on the Bongino show today.
Does California really want water or would they rather flush it into the sea?
Nuclear powered desalination.
I think the key here is only run these plants when needed, otherwise turn them off.
The dams/reservoirs are finally being repaired/retrofitted after decades of kicking the can down the street. As such, a lot of water is/was allowed to flow down the rivers, into the bays, and out to the Pacific Ocean. They also haven’t built new water storage in a long time. They also have allowed millions of illegals into the state to further stress resources. Desalination would probably be a small blip for the entire state. So. California would just rather steal it from No. California and Arizona.
Cold Fusion is the future of Nuclear Power, so... yeah.
https://freerepublic.com/tag/lenr/index?tab=articles
If they lost the paranoia and used nuclear energy to produce electricity and desalinate, California would have fewer problems. Have no sympathy when lunatics are allowed by the voters to take power.
The last thing in the world this State needs is an abundant Supply of cheap, clean drinking water. It can only lead to the yearning for more Freedom and Liberty for the peasants.
Desalination by distillation takes heat. Plenty of heat available from a nuclear reactor, particularly a thorium-fueled molten salt reactor, which can be built to generate plentiful electricity relatively close in to an urban area.
Get over this stupid superstition about all things nuclear, and recognize that California NEEDS an enormous supply of electricity, and that the desalination of sea water is merely a by-product that is almost equally as valuable as the electricity itself. Thorium-fueled molten salt reactors are both inherently MUCH safer than the older design uranium-fueled light-water reactors, and can be scaled up or down, depending on local need.
Maybe I’m completely off in terms of volume and practicality, but if the process results in piles of salt, and if dumping piles of salt directly into the ocean is bad, could they consider dumping it into Death Valley? I’m pretty sure it won’t wipe out any major species there.
Please!!! CA was emptying it’s dams for months now. Clean water out to the sea. CA WANTS a draught. Then they have control. https://californiaglobe.com/fl/ca-reservoirs-filled-to-top-in-2019-being-drained-by-state/#:~:text=Facing%20Dry%20Year%2C%20CA%20State%20Water%20Board%20is%20Draining%20California%20Reservoirs,-CA%20reservoirs%20were&text=%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20last%2014%20days,water%20for%201%20million%20people.&text=Our%20reservoirs%20were%20designed%20to,the%20top%20in%20June%202019.%E2%80%9D
Build some big nuke plants to power the water plants. Easy Peasy Japanesey.
What you said.
While desalination can produce freshwater, it also generates brine, a highly concentrated salt water mixture that is then pumped back into the ocean. and they don't separate the sea-salt out and sell it because?
that stuff is expensive
I will tell you what aint is a high speed rail from north to south
If it doesn’t hurt the sea animals and environs, just quit worrying about it.
I am not comfortable with nuclear power in a earthquake area, close to the sea. Think of the disaster of Fukushima.
Possibly sell it as California salt?
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