Why spend millions to withdraw water from rivers when utilities could withdraw seawater from the Atlantic Ocean and use desalination?
The District’s water supply plan identifies seawater desalination as one of the primary water supply sources for the future. The District has already completed a significant amount of work to plan for the ultimate utilization of this resource. Additional work is under way by the District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and water utilities to ensure an environmentally responsible approach to seawater desalination. Currently, it is less expensive to treat and transport nearby river water than distant seawater treated through desalination. The cost differential results from the additional costs for treatment energy and management of the concentrate generated from the desalination process. Long-distance transmission to make water available at inland locations also adds to costs. Even so, desalination is an alternative that some utilities are currently exploring for the future, since surface water, like fresh groundwater, is limited and will not meet all future ne
