Money Pours Into Desalination Projects Despite Concerns

There's no doubt the world is facing a crunch when it comes to water availability—a shortage that will be compounded in coming decades by climate change and increasing population. A report released this summer warned that one-third of U.S. counties will be facing increasing water shortage by 2050—and that's all over the U.S., not just in the desert southwest.

Just last week Treehugger reported that more money is projected to go to desalination projects in coming years—specifically, $3.3 billion more per year by 2016, according to Global Water Intelligence. This is a nearly 200 percent increase in spending. Looking for solutions to our water problems is key, but from what I've seen of desal technology so far, I'm extremely wary that this is the best way to direct our resources.

There are big risks associated with desal as a drinking water solution, the least of which is the expense. At this point, we have to be smart about our solutions and think about the bigger picture—trying to solve a water problem with an energy-intensive technology (especially if this is fossil fuel-driven energy consumption) in the age of global warming is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. The briney waste that's leftover is a huge environmental negative, and in some facilities without proper safeguards for withdrawing ocean water, marine life can be lost.

Christopher Gasson, editor of Desalination Markets 2010, believes that desal technology will win out, not because environmental or economic concerns will be assuaged, but because of political pressure. He's quoted in Treehugger as saying, "We have been tracking desalination projects in California for seven years, and during that time not a single large scale project has started construction in a meaningful way. It is not because they don't need the water or can't afford it, it is because there is not the political will to break the deadlock. But this will come..."

And if you think about the way this country has attempted to combat global warming, the discourse hasn't been about how to enact meaningful changes based on the best science we know, it's been a media circus based entirely on politics. So it looks like Gasson may have a good point.

Politics being what they are, this doesn't change the fact that better and cheaper water solutions exist for most communities. And it's also important to note that not all desal technology is the same and neither are all companies or municipalities proposing projects. Gasson says that none of the California projects have gone through because of political deadlock, but I think he's short-changing the real concerns that many Californians have with some of the proposals.

As I wrote a few months ago, there was a great story by Janet Wilson at DC Bureau unearthing the details of Poseidon Resources LLC's plans for a desal plant in Carlsbad, California. The plant was supposed to be privately funded, but Wilson revealed that taxpayers would have ended up shelling out more than $600 million, including $374 million in public subsidies. That sounds like a lot for a company that will pocket the revenue themselves. And Poseidon is not the most trustworthy of companies; their desal plant in Tampa Bay was such a disaster that the local water agency had to buy them out.

So maybe there is more to the story than just political will. When it comes to solutions to our water problems, let's hope that communities consider the big picture -- including energy and environmental costs, as well as who they are putting in control of their most important resource.

Photo credit: mira66

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