De-salinized water costs 275x as much as regular irrigation water in CA.

Mar 14, 2019
12:01:17pm

Brisco All-American

Why Desalination Isn't The Answer To The World's Water Problems

Why is desalination not the answer to all the world's water problems, considering that two-thirds of the earth's surface is ocean? This question was originally answered on Quora by Richard Muller.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/09/07/why-desalination-isnt-the-answer-to-the-worlds-water-problems/#40c519eb4737

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Brisco

Previous username: Otara
Bio page: Brisco
Joined: Feb 6, 2002
Last login: Apr 18, 2024
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Messages

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Time

Little known fact about Lake Powell. Powell is legally obligated to release 8.23 million acre feet of water annually

Pimpin4Paradise All-American

3/14/19 9:51am

Colorado River Compact

Jericho

3/14/19 9:53am

Yes, and California has regularly been using more than their allotted amount. Two decades ago, AZ started banking their

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 9:57am

I'm pretty sure California has to pay upper basin states for the water they use beyond their allotment.

Brisco

3/14/19 11:31am

I believe that is correct

Jericho

3/14/19 11:34am

I would assume that’s true but that it’s still significantly less than desalination.

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 11:58am

Absolutely. I'm just saying that California doesn't take water away from Utah (and CO and WY) without paying for it.

Brisco

3/14/19 12:01pm

Yep. The Lake Powell water problem has little to do with the amount of water

JAGA97

3/14/19 9:54am

There’s plenty of water in Lake Powell for your boat.

pink22

3/14/19 9:55am

Yeah, not really sure what the issue is

Dillinger

3/14/19 9:56am

Bullfrog ramp is only 3 feet away from being closed.

JAGA97

3/14/19 9:57am

It was lower than I can ever remember last year, and the beaches sucked

Jericho

3/14/19 9:57am

We were at Lake Powell in October and used the Castle Rock cutoff. The water level is now 9' below the cutoff. Crazy

Cosmodiar

3/14/19 9:59am

RE: We were at Lake Powell in October and used the Castle Rock cutoff. The

davemishsr

3/15/19 11:16am

I remember going through the Gunsight Pass cut-off on watercraft years ago

oohYeah

3/14/19 10:38am

Right now rivers running into Lake Powell are running well above average yet they are still letting out more water

Cosmodiar

3/14/19 9:58am

And????

pink22

3/14/19 10:05am

Spoken like a true Californian. Arid western states care less about the number of beaches and more about the reserves

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 10:08am

I live in California?? Since when??

pink22

3/14/19 10:10am

I was kidding. Just a little joke about Californians being superficial when faced with an issue like dwindling water

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 10:19am

There are plenty of beaches at full pool

shakarocks

3/14/19 10:57am

Many of my favorite beaches are at full pool.

oohYeah

3/14/19 3:36pm

Do you remember that time California accidentally rerouted the Colorado River

UberDeek

3/14/19 9:57am

I don't know if I'll ever go back now that it's riddled with Quaggi.

Hambone

3/14/19 9:58am

It's still a great place even with them.

Cosmodiar

3/14/19 10:02am

This will be a great year to go back. The mussels will all be buried and won't

Rise Against

3/14/19 10:03am

Right now Powell is 40 feet lower than this time last year. You think this summer will be 40 feet higher than last year?

Pete

3/14/19 10:08am

40 feet higher than right now. Last year was such a bad snow year that it only

Rise Against

3/14/19 10:09am

I agree. Just making sure you weren't thinking crazy. Getting back up to where it was last year would be good.

Pete

3/14/19 10:25am

Beginning in April the water level will start going up about a foot per day

UberDeek

3/14/19 10:10am

Wrong. It's never gone up that much and won't this year.

Rise Against

3/14/19 10:11am

Well, we can be optimistic 😁

UberDeek

3/14/19 10:12am

There's optimism (hoping for 50 foot rise) and then there's the impossible.

Rise Against

3/14/19 10:13am

Lake Powell is only used for power generation. Not drinking water.

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:05am

Except that Lake Mead loses way more to evaporation than Powell. It's over used

Rise Against

3/14/19 10:11am

Lake Powell loses more water than Lake Mead every year.

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:14am

The seepage though helps the other local areas though and seeps back into the

Rise Against

3/14/19 10:19am

The fact is. Lake Mead is more vital than Lake Powell.

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:21am

No it's not. It is the same water. Lake Mead has nothing if Lake Powell is dry.

JAGA97

3/14/19 11:18am

I'm not sure why people would want to boat in a bowel, granite or otherwise.

jdub

3/14/19 10:25am

Correct. Lake Powell loses 600,000 acre feet annually to seepage and evaporation.

Brisco

3/14/19 11:41am

The amount of seepage is disputed and I'm not sure anyone really knows how much water is lost in either lake.

Cosmodiar

3/14/19 11:49am

Well, hydrologists know exactly how much water enters each day and how much is discharged each day from both reservoirs.

Brisco

3/14/19 12:08pm

Evaporation and seepage are not easily measured. Lots of variables.

Pete

3/14/19 12:19pm

I find it funny people start caring about water when their recreation could

pink22

3/14/19 10:09am

California needs to find alternative means for water usage

Jericho

3/14/19 10:13am

No doubt. But California isn’t smart and is powerful so it’s not changing.

pink22

3/14/19 10:17am

<< Deleted >>

Abe Froman

3/14/19 10:19am

If the seceded from the US it would, lol...

Jericho

3/14/19 10:22am

So Lake Mead should receive as much water as it needs? Those dependent on it

JAGA97

3/14/19 10:17am

The only purpose of Lake Powell is power generation.

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:19am

It will soon be supplying water to Southern Utah. Utah has claims to the water

UberDeek

3/14/19 10:22am

Maybe.... I know they are trying to get a $2 Billion pipeline built...

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:25am

That’s why I pee in Lake Powell every chance I get

Jericho

3/14/19 10:23am

Lake Powell exists to store water

Littlerich

3/14/19 10:31am

....for hydroelectric power generation.

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:32am

All of your claims on this thread are bogus. Yes, Glen Canyon Dam does produce energy, but the primary function of

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 10:49am

OK. So they are just storing water for boating, then.

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:50am

No. They're storing it for use during bad water years.

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 10:51am

Use for what? How are they going to use the water?

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:52am

Dig your heels in and keep making terrible points. I think you're winning people over.

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 10:55am

I'm simply stating the facts. Sorry the facts are upsetting you.

Richbyu

3/14/19 11:01am

It was built for both

shakarocks

3/14/19 11:08am

It would be great if California got on board with desalination.

Richbyu

3/14/19 11:10am

It's absolutely a viable option, it just costs about twice as much as pulling it from Mead. Hence the reason they'll

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 11:16am

Water storage so People upriver can keep some of their water

Littlerich

3/14/19 6:47pm

And you make my point perfectly. The overuse of the water system is downstream.

JAGA97

3/14/19 10:45am

I guess some people downstream don't want to die.

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:48am

Then their leaders need to make better decisions. Because in the end there is

JAGA97

3/14/19 10:50am

Looks like the powers that be have decided to just give more water to Lake Mead

Richbyu

3/14/19 10:52am

Yep. And some people support their actions of running deficits.

JAGA97

3/14/19 10:53am

This is correct

shakarocks

3/14/19 11:00am

This is the whole point. California demands more than their share because their demand continues to increase. They can't

Pimpin4Paradise

3/14/19 11:05am

Do you know how much de-salinization of seawater costs? California farmers would lose their shirts.

Brisco

3/14/19 11:28am

$0.50- $2.00 dollars more per thousand gallons

shakarocks

3/14/19 11:39am

Technology will get better, we need to be working on this in coastal areas

Jericho

3/14/19 11:41am

Also the Central Valley gets its water from reservoir systems in NoCal

shakarocks

3/14/19 11:45am

De-salinized water costs 275x as much as regular irrigation water in CA.

Brisco

3/14/19 12:01pm

Read this

shakarocks

3/14/19 12:33pm

That's written from Quora. Not the best source...

trom2foot3

3/14/19 12:37pm

That’s laughably misinformed. It is approximately twice as expensive as normal watershed water. Nobody is suggesting

Pimpin4Paradise

3/15/19 8:49am

The last thing we need is to incentivize more people to live in the desert.

chilango

3/14/19 11:54am

So, you are against the $2 Billion pipeline to St. George?

Richbyu

3/14/19 11:59am

I’m against government subsidies, especially when they subsidize bad behavior,

chilango

3/14/19 12:08pm

Where does Phoenix get their water?

Richbyu

3/14/19 11:34pm

Mostly from the Central Arizona Project and Salt River Project, I believe.

chilango

3/15/19 2:06am

RE: So, you are against the $2 Billion pipeline to St. George?

davemishsr

3/15/19 11:21am

Cedar City?

Richbyu

3/15/19 11:50am

This. Market rates for water are the answer. Just like they are for everything.

jvquarterback

3/15/19 2:32pm

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