OCEAN DESALINATION is the process of removing salt from seawater either through evaporation or by forcing the salty water through tiny membrane filters in order to make fresh, drinkable water.

HIGH ECONOMIC RISKS AND COSTS…

So far, there are no functioning, large scale desalination plants in the U.S. However, a number of private companies are proposing more than 30 ocean desalination plants for the coast of California alone. Most of these proposed plants are near the last remaining open space corridors where the lack of water has limited development.

These water barons are working hard to take a public resource and turn it into global profit at the expense of rate payers and the environment. They view the ocean as an endless reservoir with the potential to supply expensive water for growth. Multinational companies usurp government’s responsibility to provide affordable, safe drinking water for all.

Desalination is expensive – it costs anywhere from three to ten times more than freshwater sources. Due to the high price associated with the construction and maintenance of the plants, users could be faced with huge rate hikes and the water companies could market the water to the highest bidders who can afford to pay the high price of desalinated water. Industry groups are aggressively lobbying elected officials at the local, state and federal levels for government handouts, leaving less funding for other alternatives like community based conservation programs.

…WITH HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS

Ocean desalination plants are a serious threat to sensitive coastal areas and marine life that are already exposed to human impacts. Urban sprawl and population growth, urban runoff, and sewage have already caused untold harm to our oceans.

Corporations like Poseidon Resources are aggressively planning their proposals to “co-locate” ocean desalination plants alongside coastal power plants so that they can use the intake water from the power plant cooling systems for desalination. Rivers of water are sucked up for these cooling systems from the ocean in a process where 100% of all marine life is killed.

A number of the 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 into the ocean can destroy sensitive marine habitat, such as rocky habitat where fish forage and live. Desalination could set the recovery of Pacific coast fisheries back by perpetuating obsolete power plant intakes.

These coastal power plants should be retrofitted or shut down, but desalination would breathe new life into them, as well as increase energy usage, which could lead to more air pollution and exacerbate climate change.

DRINKING WATER QUALITY CONCERNS

Public health experts have also warned that desalinated water might not be safe to drink. The ocean has toxins that aren’t found in other water sources like Boron, algal toxins and carcinogenic chemicals like 1-4 dioxane. It is unclear whether or not these harmful toxins can be removed through desalination.

Desalination in Tampa Bay: A Rough Start

In 1999, Connecticut-based Poseidon Resources hooked Tampa Bay Water Authority on a plan to build the largest seawater desalination plant in the US (with a capacity of 50 mgd). During construction Poseidon went through several building companies, each declaring bankruptcy after working on the plant.

Pridesa, owned by the German energy conglomerated RWE and operated under British-based Thames Water, has now taken over the project. They promise to get the water running for an additional $29 million. Angry Tampa Bay residents are wondering who to hold responsible for this costly, failed experiment: politicians, corporations or both?

The same cast of characters moved to the West Coast where, with higher energy costs, stricter environmental constraints, and a dying marine ecosystem, the proposals of plants twice the size, 50 mgd or 25 mgd, make even less sense.

WHO ARE THE PLAYERS?

Poseidon Resources

Based in Stanford, Connecticut, this company claims to “assume the risk” of developing seawater desalination plants so that local governments can focus on other priorities. But if Tampa Bay is any example (see story inside), the company is not to be trusted.

Now Poseidon has signed a deal with the San Diego Water Authority to build a plant in Carlsbad, Calif., where the price tag is estimated to be $270 million. Poseidon is also pushing hard to build a plant in Huntington Beach, Calif., where community members are demanding that the beaches be cleaned up before another industrial plant is added to their coast.

California-American Water (CalAm)

CalAm is the largest privately owned water company in the U.S. with subsidiaries in 27 states. However, the company is actually owned by the German energy conglomerate RWE and operated by the British-based water baron Thames Water. California American is currently trying to build a large desalination plant at Moss Landing near the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary on California’s central coast.

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)

The MWD, the largest water district in the United States, serving 17 million people in most of southern California, is offering a $250 per acre-foot subsidy for potable water produced by plants built and operated through a sponsoring member public water agency. (An acre-foot is one acre covered by water one foot deep, or about 326,000 gallons. On average, an acre-foot provides the needs of at least two families, in and around their homes, for a year.)

Others to keep an eye on

San Diego County Water Authority, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Obviously, the membrane filter industry is a major proponent of desalination.

HOW CAN YOU HELP BLOCK OCEAN DESALINATION?

Water for All is actively challenging the expansion of this backward-looking technology. Here’s how you can help:

1. Get educated! There are many alternatives to desalination. Some key websites on water conservation include: Pacific Institute, California Urban Water Conservation Council, www.waterconserve.org.
2. Get organized! Encourage your local water agencies and elected officials to invest first in conservation and water recycling – known solutions that work cost effectively with environmental and community benefits.
3. Link up! Join the Water for All campaign at www.foodandwaterwatch.org, Email water[at]fwwatch[dot]org or call us 202.797.6550.