About Desalination
Desalination is the process of separating salts from seawater and brackish water, thereby allowing the water to serve many useful purposes. Desalination technology has advanced to the point where desalination has become a relied-upon water source for many regions of the world, from the Middle East to the vacation islands of the Spanish Mediterranean.
Desalination is both a promising and a challenging technology. Interest and actual use is growing in the United States in both inland and coastal areas. California citizens were interested enough in desalination to provide research funding through Proposition 50. Federal, state, and regional water agencies are also funding desalination research.
Here at the Center for Integrated Water Research, we are studying desalination from economic, policy, and communications perspectives.
Workshops 2006- 2007
The purpose of our preliminary workshops was to assemble state and national experts to explore the most important environmental, policy, economic, and technical aspects of desalination. From these workshops, all of which met our expectation of high attendance and active participation of experts, we developed new perspectives on desalination as a technology and desalination as a potential part of regional water supply.
Evaluating Environmental Issues with Desalination in CA
September 25-26, 2006
This workshop was held September 25-26, 2006 in Santa Cruz, CA. It was organized by Brent Haddad, Bob Raucher, and Elizabeth Strange.
Representatives were present from the following organizations:
NOAA – Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Water Resources, California Energy Commission, State Water Quality Control Boards, California State Coastal Conservancy, California Coastal Commission, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, City of Santa Cruz Water Department, Coachella Valley Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Marin Municipal Water District, Soquel Water District, San Diego County Water Authority, Long Beach Water Department, California-American Water; Tennera Environmental, RBF Consulting, Stratus Consulting, Inc., Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., Poseidon Resources, Occidental College, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, National Water Research Institute, WateReuse Foundation, The Planning and Conservation League, Surfrider Foundation, Affordable Desal Coalition.
Economics and Policy of Desalination in CA
November 9, 2006
Agenda PDF file size 112K
This workshop was held November 9, 2006 in Sacramento, CA. It was organized by Ed Means, Brent Haddad, and Robert Raucher.
Representatives were present from the following organizations:
California Department of Water Resources, California Energy Commission, State Water Quality Control Boards, US Bureau of Reclamation, California Bay-Delta Authority, Department of Health Services, Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, Division of Ratepayer Advocates, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., Stratus Consulting, Inc., Association of California Water Agencies, The Planning and Conservation League, and the Surfrider Foundation.
Dr. Raucher discussed the idea for the economic framework for evaluating desalination projects prior to asking questions of participants regarding core issues involved in planning, regulatory and permitting processes. The group discussed how to define the “baseline” situation a water agency experiences when considering whether to integrate desalination into the water portoflio. Throughout the day issues regarding the following subjects were discussed in terms of economics and policy: feed-water intake, product water, concentrate management and discharge, energy demands, emissions, implications of these environmental issues, environmental justice and equity issues, costs, pricing, financing, and implementation.
Technology and Finance of Desalination in CA
February 23, 2007
Agenda PDF file size 42K
This workshop was held February 23, 2007 in Santa Barbara, CA. It was organized by Bob Wilkinson and Ed Means.
Representatives were present from the following organizations:
UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., Division of Ratepayer Advocates, California Energy Commission, RBF Consulting, Desal Response Group, MJF Consulting, Inc., Surfrider Foundation, Separation Processes, Inc., Cambria Community Services District, MWH Americas Inc., Larsen & Company, Inc., UCLA/CEE Department, California Department of Water Resources, Monterey Commercial Property Owner’s Association, The West Basin Municipal District, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sherman May consulting, Affordable Desalination Collaboration, Poseidon Resources, City of Sand City, Flow Science Inc., Stratus Consulting, Inc., Metropolitan Water District, Bureau of Reclamation, MBC Applied Environmental Sciences, Central Coast State Water Control Board.
Dr Wilkinson, Mr. Means, and Dr. Haddad discussed the project and the contribution of this workshop toward the development of the research products. We heard from presenters who shared applied research related to the following topics: source water intakes, pretreatment, reverse osmosis, other desalination process options, plume modeling, permitting, energy, and finance.
Projects
Two of our projects focused on desalination planning in Monterey County, and a third project, described here, developed guidance materials for regions throughout California considering desalination.
This project was funded by Proposition 50 funds and overseen by the State Department of Water Resources.
As part of our research plan, we undertook three case studies of regions in California that were considering desalination. These regions include:
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Located in the rapidly-growing southwest corner of San Bernardino County, IEUA provides water and wastewater treatment services to numerous cities, including Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, and Upland. This region is interested in desalination to meet its growing water demand and because it has brackish groundwater resources that can be made suitable for urban use. Our IEUA case study helped us understand the challenges and opportunities of desalination planning for non-coastal regions of California.
Monterey County
Located along California’s central coast, Monterey County combines small cities, farmland, and tourism. Water demand is growing and the county faces challenges of meeting growing demand, protecting coastal rivers, and stopping the intrusion of seawater into overused coastal aquifers. Numerous agencies are proposing desalination as a new/replacement source of water for the county and water-agency managers and citizens are regularly meeting to discuss what role, if any, desalination will play in water supply. This case study pointed out the challenge of integrating the needs of multiple separate agencies into a truly regional project.
The research team deeply appreciates the support from all of these agencies and regions, all of which volunteered themselves as case studies for our project.
City of Long Beach Desalination Research Program Archives
Serving a coastal city in southern California, the Long Beach Water Department provides both drinking water and wastewater treatment services. The Department operated an experimental desalination facility in collaboration with Los Angeles County and the US Bureau of Reclamation. The Long Beach experience helped us understand the planning, economic and communications aspects of integrating desalination into a coastal region’s water portfolio.
As part of our project, the Water Department of Long Beach, California, partnered with us to make their extensive research archives available to the entire state. Their research archives are available from the Water Department.
Proposition 50 Planning Issues Matrix
This matrix enables individuals, community groups, and agency planners to study proposals to implement desalination projects. It is the major product of our Proposition 50 funded project, Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Desalination in California.
Final Report
This Report describes the research project and summarizes our findings and recommendations with respect to implementing desalination projects in California.
Research Needs Report on Desalination
This report focuses on how the academic field of ecological economics can inform future productive research related to desalination so that society can get the most benefit from desalination technologies at the least environmental and other costs.