Posted on 08/22/2002 7:24:39 PM PDT by Willie Green
Edited on 05/07/2004 6:01:19 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Wilmington Mayor James Baker called Wednesday for Delaware and regional water officials to seriously consider helping the city upgrade a water treatment plant to allow it to draw saltwater from the Delaware River and turn it into drinking water.
He said the city has been looking at such a process as part of a study of upgrades to its drinking water system. A $20 million desalination system designed and built by the Canadian company Zenon could be incorporated into a city water treatment plant within a year to provide up to 20 million gallons of drinking water a day during a drought, Baker said.
(Excerpt) Read more at delawareonline.com ...
Cool Water
All day I've faced the barren waste
without the taste of water..... cool water
Ole Dan and I with throats burned dry
and souls that cry for water.... cool, clear water
The nights are cool and I'm a fool
Each star's a pool of water.... cool, clear water
And with the dawn I'll wake and yawn
and carry on to water.... cool, clear water
The shadows sway and seem to say
tonight we pray for water.... cool, clear water
And way up there He'll hear our prayer
and show us where there's water.... cool, clear water
Keep a movin' Dan don't you listen to him Dan
He's the devil, not a man he spreads the burnin' sand with water
Say Dan can't you see that big green tree
where the water's runnin' free, it's waiting there for you and me
And water.... cool, clear water
Dan's feet are sore he's yearnin' for
Just one thing more than water.... cool, clear water
Like me I guess he'd like to rest
Where there's no quest for water.... cool, clear water
Completly agree. The water table is dropping rapidly in some of the most productive farm land in the country. I think the US should start building lots of nuclear desalintion plants and pipelines to the interior of the country.
If it only costs $20 million, what are they waiting for? And why only run it during droughts - what are the real operating costs pre gallon of water produced?
Desalination Technology has improved dramaticly in recent years, becoming a more efficient and cost effective alternative for coastal communities whose traditional sources are overburdened. However, it is still an energy intensive process, and operating costs are very much dependent on availability and cost of the local electric power supply.
The cost of electric power is another hot-button issue nationwide. Many advocate deregulation of energy markets as a means of lowering electric rates, so theoreticly, Delaware could purchase its power from a low cost source in Utah or Idaho. I suppose this must have some validity in the world of financial theory, but from a purely engineering perspective, it is in defiance of the laws of Physics. There is simply too much transmission line loss over that great of a distance. Desalination plants are best built adjacent to, or in conjunction with, electic power generating stations.
IMHO, nuclear power is the most efficient and cost effective means we currently have for generating electriciy. However, local conditions may dictate that some other power source be utilized. Whatever the source, the public needs to be aware of the interrelationship between desalination technology and power supply so that they may make an informed decision on infrastructure issues that affect their water & electricity supplies and costs.
That must be right near the Cape Cod Tunnel and the wind farm :)
I've only recently started following this issue, and while it doesn't surprise me, this is the first time I've heard of desalination being considered in the People's Republik of Taxachusetts. Other states considering/implementing desalination (including Delaware) that I've posted articles for include Florida, Texas and Kalifornia.
The people of Taxachusetts certainly have a dilemma on their hands. It's my understanding that there's also a proposal afloat to cover the Cape with giant windmills. From an engineering perspective, giant windmills are interesting technology that ARE capable of generating electricity. But that reflects more my technical fascination with oversized mechanical devices than true economic reality.
If Taxachusetts wants to power their desalination plants with windmills, it's fine by me. It's their money to spend however they want, not mine. The rest of us can watch in bemused amazement, and use them as an example of what NOT to do.
Sadly, we've permitted environmental extremists to hinder development of our energy resources with nuclear technophobia for far too long. Japan began rebuilding Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after WW-II. Hiroshima now has a population approaching 1.2 million people, Nagasaki's population is near 450 thousand. While the immediate consequences of military use of nuclear power are indeed horrific, the recovery of these cities should be utilized to highlight the safety of peaceful nuclear power generation.
BTW, Japan generates over 30% of its electricity from nuclear technology.
We barely generate 20%, despite being the world's lone nuclear "superpower".
It's inevitable that we increase our nuclear power output. I think it's a good idea to establish a long term site for safe storage of the waste products as we are attempting to do now. Concurrently we should begin planning for the construction of needed power plants in useful locations.
The sad part is that much of that "waste" (spent nuclear fuel) can actually be efficiently recycled and reprocessed in breeder reactors, significantly reducing the amount that needs to be buried. (Another irrational consequence of anti-nuke technophobia.)
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