Can Desalination Address Water Woes?
Water is scarce in many areas of the country. From Atlanta in the east to California and several other states in the west, the struggle to provide enough water to meet the demands of the public, agriculture, and industry while still protecting fragile ecosystems seems to have no end in sight. Some water managers and policymakers are turning to desalination as a possible solution. Though desalination technologies generate less than 0.01 percent of U.S. water supplies, the nation’s capacity to desalinate water grew by around 40 percent between 2000 and 2005, and plants now exist in every state. Desalination could be a viable way to boost scarce water supplies in some parts of the country, but a report from the National Research Council cautions that uncertainties about the possible environmental impacts can create significant barriers to its wider use. The report, Desalination: A National Perspective, says that a coordinated research effort is needed to better understand and minimize pot
