Worst Drought In The History Of California Is Happening Right Now (San Diego: costs, areas)

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by mbell75

This is just another example of how shockingly stupid the people who run this state are. We live next to a giant body of water called the PACIFIC OCEAN and we have a DROUGHT?! Anyone ever heard of a "desalination plant"? Build a few, problem solved. Idiots.

That is extremely expensive but, yes, several are currently under construction. Beware of water rate hikes to pay for them though.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

That is extremely expensive but, yes, several are currently under construction. Beware of water rate hikes to pay for them though.

Not cheap. We lived in SB when theirs was built, then mysteriously almost never used (yeah, taxpayers were pissed). Not sure why merely restarting the thing requires $20 million

Restarting Desalination Plant Would Cost $20 Million | News - KEYT

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

This guy apparently reads all the uber-right doomsday "the commies are coming" websites.

Laughs!! I am afraid they are already here!

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

That is extremely expensive but, yes, several are currently under construction. Beware of water rate hikes to pay for them though.

Again, this state is run by idiots. There should be more than enough money to build desalination plants. They can always take some from the $10 BILLION a year they **** away on healthcare and incarceration of ILLEGALS in this rotten state. Then deport them back too. That would be a great start at getting this state back on the right track.

[JGC97]

Desalination plants may become more of a necessity in future years. As the population grows - not just California - where will we get water, if not converting from the ocean?

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Not cheap. We lived in SB when theirs was built, then mysteriously almost never used (yeah, taxpayers were pissed). Not sure why merely restarting the thing requires $20 million

Restarting Desalination Plant Would Cost $20 Million | News - KEYT

Probably because it has been sitting derelict for 20 years and part of it was even sold off. The problem is they only really have lake Cachuma to draw water from as they never built any other reservoirs plus they never hooked up to DWP so it's not like they can even import water from out of area. For better or worse San Diego actually has built a number of reservoirs over the years and has aqueducts both to the Colorado River and to the DWP system so we're far better off than Santa Barbara. That said they're still building on desal plant here and it will cost big money with big rate increases for end users.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by mbell75

Again, this state is run by idiots. There should be more than enough money to build desalination plants. They can always take some from the $10 BILLION a year they **** away on healthcare and incarceration of ILLEGALS in this rotten state. Then deport them back too. That would be a great start at getting this state back on the right track.

Hey, genius. Local water utilities pay for local water projects not the state.

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Desalination plants may become more of a necessity in future years. As the population grows - not just California - where will we get water, if not converting from the ocean?

For future planning, yes absolutely. But...

It's not just building plants (BTW there are desal plants being built) but as mentioned the process is expensive, about twice as much as current sourcing. That means we either buy a volume of water at ~$1K or desalinate water at ~$2K. Now, future costs will inevitably bring pricing to parity, but it's not a simple fix either infrastructurally or financially. Long Beach was set to build one but had to balance its fiscal priorities. It's not stupidity or lack of foresight; going either way it's about making prudent decisions. Personally I'm for building, but I understand the dilemma.

Other issues in the conversation: You don't just plop a facility anywhere and start sucking up the ocean. Vacuuming up seawater does do ecological damage to that beautiful coast everyone enjoys. Certain environments make avoidance of that possible. We can also conserve more. SoCal is already the nation's leader in water recycling, so we can build more or ramp up the existing facilities.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Bunjee

Other issues in the conversation: You don't just plop a facility anywhere and start sucking up the ocean. Vacuuming up seawater does do ecological damage to that beautiful coast everyone enjoys. Certain environments make avoidance of that possible. We can also conserve more. SoCal is already the nation's leader in water recycling, so we can build more or ramp up the existing facilities.

Would be kind of cool if we could repurpose a few of these:

[sargentodiaz]

I read an article not long ago that a huge desalinization plant is being built between Tijuana and Ensenada in Baja. It should not only provide ample fresh water to those two areas but provide surplus to the area south of San Diego.

How can a poor country like Mexico build one and not California?