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True, though there's a question of whether there will be demand to keep up those ag uses as water becomes more scarce generally (I could see it going either way
by barathr 4y ago
True, though there's a question of whether there will be demand to keep up those ag uses as water becomes more scarce generally (I could see it going either way).
Electricity is something like half of desalination's operational cost, and we're already in a situation where the price on the grid goes negative (or is curtailed) during solar peaks and more and more solar is being added to the grid each year. So power for desalination is going to be near free in the coming years. (Whereas for other less flexible loads, electricity isn't likely to get cheaper quickly, since we have to either have storage or use gas plants.)
- thghtihadanacct 4y agoThe last desal plan in SoCal just got shot down ... the plant in my area was voted down not long ago as well. There needs to be a bit more suffering and research before most are going to agree to the clear negative aspects ... I love fishing and a clean Bay too. We, however, are gonna run out of water. By that time its going to be an entire California event in which the plants arent supplying just the local water districts but most of the state. At that point were just gonna eminent domain Fort Ord and build an effluent pipe half way to Kauai.
- laurencerowe 4y agoI don't know if we're truly going to run out of water or not, but there are many measures it would make sense to take before building desalination plants, such as recycling water and more efficient agricultural water use.
- Manuel_D 4y agoAgricultural use accounts for the overwhelming majority of water use in CA. I doubt Bay Area and LA residential faucets will go dry before water use is reformed. The rural areas are massively out-voted by the urban centers.
- s1artibartfast 4y agoNot everything is reformable via public vote. Property rights and constitutional rights are largely on the side of the agricultural users. Faucets will never go dry because human drinking water is a minuscule use. Some sprinklers and pools may go dry in times of drought
- Manuel_D 4y agoProperty rights are governed by laws. Legislatures can change laws.
- stevesearer 4y agoWe have a desal plant in Santa Barbara: https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/system/sources/desalination/default.asp https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/system...