California Will Combat Drought With Biggest Desalination Plant – But It’s An Ecological Disaster


California will soon have a new source of potable water – the Pacific Ocean. With a massive desalination plant to be commissioned soon, Californians will have ample water. However, the plant will have adverse effects on the marine life.

Governor Jerry Brown’s new plan to save the state is set to launch next year. Though the Governor has already passed mandatory water conservation restrictions earlier this year, it is just not enough warned critics who said that mere conservation will not be enough to save the state’s severe water shortage.

California is undoubtedly facing the worst drought in its history. Experts predict that the state has just about a year’s supply of water at best estimates. Whatever hopes that barely hinged on the ‘wet’ season have been eroded, said Jay Famiglietti, senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“As our ‘wet’ season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have done almost nothing to alleviate epic drought conditions. January was the driest in California since record-keeping began in 1895. Groundwater and snow-pack levels are at all-time lows. We’re not just up a creek without a paddle in California; we’re losing the creek too.”

However, not losing hope, the Governor has announced a new plan of using desalinated water drawn from the sea. Several ocean desalination plants already up and running in a handful of towns around the state will be joined by a much larger one that would be built near the Huntington Beach. This plant is expected to supply water to the parched and heavily populated Orange County region.

The Huntington Beach plant is by far the largest desalination plant in the western hemisphere. Once completely ready, it will produce 189 million liters (50 million gallons) of drinking water a year. But there’s a huge downside.

The desalination plant will take in two liters of seawater and will offer just a liter of fresh drinkable water. The leftover water will be super salty. Technically referred to as high-concentration brine, the leftover water would mix in with the city’s waste-water before being piped back out to sea to spread around, about 50 km offshore.

While not in the same league as an oil-spill that’s threatening California’s beaches, it would surely have adverse effects on the marine life which relies on the delicate balance of water and salt. Ironically, the company developing the new plant, Poseidon Water, has insisted it will counter the environmental damage by contributing financially to a Californian program that funds projects aimed at offsetting emissions of greenhouse gases.

[Image Credit | Getty Images]

Share this article: California Will Combat Drought With Biggest Desalination Plant – But It’s An Ecological Disaster
More from Inquisitr