At least that seems like the current situation in the Southeast, where states are facing one of the most severe droughts in history. Many government officials are declaring a state of emergency, and are encouraging residents to limit their water consumption - from taking shorter showers (Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia has even declared October “Take a Shorter Shower Month”) to not watering their lawns.

Some mayors have even considered raising water rates to further reduce water usage. According to an Atlanta Business Chronicle article, Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin is currently deciding whether to raise rates on irrigation meters (meters that measure outdoor water use on homes) by as much as 100 percent. And some officials are talking about one option that would be would be economically and environmentally damaging: desalination.

Desalination is a process that converts seawater into distilled, drinkable water.  After all, water covers about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, so we would never run out of water….right?

Although this may seem like a good solution, desalination comes at a high cost that outweighs its potential benefits––literally. It’s the most expensive form of “fresh” water––it costs anywhere from three to ten times more than freshwater sources due to the high price of construction and maintenance of the plants.

Desalination also harms marine ecosystems, promotes unsound coastal zone management, wastes energy, and impacts human health (check out Food & Water Watch’s “Top 10” list of why desalination is so bad).  For example, a number of proposed desalination plants are to be built in estuaries, which are sensitive breeding grounds for aquatic life and the nurseries for young fish. In addition, toxic discharges of highly concentrated brine (water highly concentrated with salt) into the ocean can destroy sensitive marine habitat.

Desalination is just a way to put a thumb in the dike with the growing water supply problem. Instead, officials should focus on better water management practices, such as water conservation and recycling, which get to the root of the problem.

If it’s yellow….well, you know the rest.

        - Erin Greenfield
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