Recurrent droughts and uncertainties about future water supplies
have led several California communities to look to saltwater for
supplemental supplies through a process known as desalination.
… A new technology equips membranes used in the
reverse-osmosis desalination process with
electrical conductivity, improving their ability to separate
salts and other contaminants from hard-to-treat waters. Active
Membranes, a California-based company, licensed the technology
originating from UC Riverside and UCLA to advance its
development and bring it to market. Their team received funding
for this work from the National Alliance for Water Innovation
(NAWI), a public-private partnership led by the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley
Lab). NAWI focuses on advancing technologies that enable the
use of unconventional water sources in real-world settings. In
addition to federal support, NAWI is backed by several
California water agencies, reflecting strong regional interest
in securing reliable water supplies. According to NAWI
Executive Director Peter Fiske, the new active membrane can
effectively treat wastewater that is brought to the
surface during oil and gas extraction.
Tomorrow, June 26, the California Public Utilities Commission
was scheduled to adopt a proposed decision regarding the
Monterey Peninsula’s current water supply and forecasted demand
by 2050. And after already being rescheduled from the June
12 CPUC meeting by Commissioner Darcie Houck, who’s presiding
over the matter, on June 24 Houck pulled it from the agenda
again and rescheduled it until July 24, the CPUC’s next
meeting. … The talking points discussed were a rehashing
of Cal Am’s disagreement with the proposed decision, which
projected a 2050 water demand of 13,732 acre-feet per year—the
number Cal Am had been pushing for, and far higher than five
outside estimates—and a current water supply of 11,204
acre-feet per year, which Cal Am thinks is too high. Cal Am
officials also reiterated why they think the demand numbers are
correct. Water demand on the Peninsula last year dipped
below 9,000 acre-feet, the lowest level in decades, and the
proposed decision presumes it will increase more than 4,500
acre-feet over the next 25 years.
Canadian Wave-powered desalination innovator Oneka Technologies
has secured regulatory approval to move forward with its
wave-powered desalination pilot project off the coast of Fort
Bragg, California. According to Oneka Technologies, the
Fort Bragg Planning Commission unanimously approved the
initiative on May 28, 2025, following the completion of the
environmental review process. The review included a 30-day
public consultation. The project, partly funded by the
California Department of Water Resources (DWR), is now entering
the deployment phase. … This is said to be the first
seawater desalination pilot to complete the CEQA process since
California updated its regulations in 2015. The system is
designed to produce freshwater using wave energy, operating
off-grid and without greenhouse gas emissions.
… Having reported on water on the Monterey Peninsula for the
better part of the last decade, it’s remarkable to reflect on
what has transpired in that time: A political movement for
public water, a political movement to stop Cal Am’s
desal project in Marina, an innovative
recycled water project and its expansion, and
a conditional approval for Cal Am’s desal project, which is
still being litigated on multiple fronts. … How much
supply there is, and how much demand there will be by 2050, are
among the things still being debated regarding Cal Am’s desal
project (per a condition of approval from the California
Coastal Commission). It was finally scheduled to be voted upon
by the California Public Utilities Commission at a meeting in
Sacramento tomorrow, June 12. Late yesterday, Commissioner
Darcie Houck, who’s presiding over the proceeding, pulled it
from tomorrow’s meeting and rescheduled it for June
26. … The whole purpose behind these efforts has
been to lift the state’s cease-and-desist order that prohibits
Cal Am from setting new water meters. But it’s the State Water
Control Board that decides that. –Written by Monterey County Now columnist David
Schmalz.
Industries that need ultra-pure water — including
semiconductor, battery, pharmaceutical, food and beverage
companies — are expanding in Arizona. One of the most
overlooked challenges for these businesses is what gets left
behind in the pursuit of clean water: brine, the salty
byproduct of processes like reverse osmosis. For Shahnawaz
Sinha, an associate research professor in civil and
environmental engineering at Arizona State University, brine
isn’t just waste, it’s an opportunity. Through a partnership
with Nestlé and supported by ASU’s Arizona Water
Innovation Initiative and the Global Center for Water
Technology, Sinha is developing a mobile, closed-loop water
recovery demonstration facility that could change how
industries in the metro Phoenix area deal with brine. By
recovering another 50%–90% of previously unusable water from
industrial brine and reducing the remainder to solid salt, the
project aims to minimize waste and extract freshwater to
support Arizona’s economy and water resilience.
Cities across California and the Southwest are significantly
increasing and diversifying their use of recycled wastewater as
traditional water supplies grow tighter.
The 5th edition of our Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling
covers the latest trends and statistics on water reuse as a
strategic defense against prolonged drought and climate change.
The southern part of California’s Central Coast from San Luis Obispo County to Ventura County, home to about 1.5 million people, is blessed with a pleasing Mediterranean climate and a picturesque terrain. Yet while its unique geography abounds in beauty, the area perpetually struggles with drought.
Indeed, while the rest of California breathed a sigh of relief with the return of wet weather after the severe drought of 2012–2016, places such as Santa Barbara still grappled with dry conditions.
Even as stakeholders in the Colorado River Basin celebrate the recent completion of an unprecedented drought plan intended to stave off a crashing Lake Mead, there is little time to rest. An even larger hurdle lies ahead as they prepare to hammer out the next set of rules that could vastly reshape the river’s future.
Set to expire in 2026, the current guidelines for water deliveries and shortage sharing, launched in 2007 amid a multiyear drought, were designed to prevent disputes that could provoke conflict.
Although Santa Monica may be the most aggressive Southern California water provider to wean itself from imported supplies, it is hardly the only one looking to remake its water portfolio.
In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million people, efforts are underway to dramatically slash purchases of imported water while boosting the amount from recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation. Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 announced a plan to reduce the city’s purchase of imported water from Metropolitan Water District by one-half by 2025 and to provide one-half of the city’s supply from local sources by 2035. (The city considers its Eastern Sierra supplies as imported water.)
This 2-day, 1-night tour offered participants the opportunity to
learn about water issues affecting California’s scenic Central
Coast and efforts to solve some of the challenges of a region
struggling to be sustainable with limited local supplies that
have potential applications statewide.
This issue examines desalination and the role it could play in
the future of water supply. In addition to an explanation of the
basics of the technology, the article looks at costs,
environmental impacts and groundwater application. Pilot
desalination projects are featured, including a much-touted
Carlsbad, Calif., facility that promises to substantially boost
that region’s water supply.
This printed issue of Western Water examines
desalination – an issue that is marked by great optimism and
controversy – and the expected role it might play as an
alternative water supply strategy.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at the energy
requirements associated with water use and the means by which
state and local agencies are working to increase their knowledge
and improve the management of both resources.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Salt. In a small amount, it’s a gift from nature. But any doctor
will tell you, if you take in too much salt, you’ll start to have
health problems. The same negative effect is happening to land in
the Central Valley. The problem scientists call “salinity” poses
a growing threat to our food supply, our drinking water quality
and our way of life. The problem of salt buildup and potential –
but costly – solutions are highlighted in this 2008 public
television documentary narrated by comedian Paul Rodriguez.
A 20-minute version of the 2008 public television documentary
Salt of the Earth: Salinity in California’s Central Valley. This
DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking
engagements to help the public understand the complex issues
surrounding the problem of salt build up in the Central Valley
potential – but costly – solutions. Narrated by comedian Paul
Rodriquez.
20-minute DVD that explains the problem with polluted stormwater,
and steps that can be taken to help prevent such pollution and
turn what is often viewed as a “nuisance” into a water resource
through various activities.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the principles of IRWM,
its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water
management approach.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta always has been at the mercy of
river flows and brackish tides.
Before human intervention, salty ocean water from the San
Francisco Bay flooded the vast Delta marshes during dry summers
when mountain runoff ebbed. Then, during winter, heavy runoff
from the mountains repelled sea water intrusion.
Recurrent droughts and uncertainties about future water supplies
have led several California communities to look to treat salty
water for supplemental supplies through a process known as
desalination.
Desalination removes salt and other dissolved minerals from water
and is one method to reclaim water for other uses. This can occur
with ocean water along the coast and in the interior at spots
that draw from ancient salt water deep under the surface or where
groundwater has been tainted
by too much salt.
It seems not a matter of if but when seawater desalination will
fulfill the promise of providing parts of California with a
reliable, drought-proof source of water. With a continuing
drought and uncertain water deliveries, the state is in the grip
of a full-on water crisis, and there are many people who see
desalination as a way to provide some relief to areas struggling
to maintain an adequate water supply.
“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” – Samuel
Taylor Coleridge
For time immemorial, the seas of the Earth have been seen as an
enticing but unreachable source of fresh water. Separating the
salt from ocean water was always a cost prohibitive process,
primarily reserved to wealthy Middle Eastern nations and
small-scale operations such as ocean-bound vessels and small
islands. Otherwise, through the evolution of modern civilization,
man has depended upon lakes, rivers and groundwater – a supply
that comprises less than 3 percent of the planet’s total water.
