Desalination – California Globe

Ringside: Disruptive Desalination Technology Comes to California

May 29, 2025 2:55 amMay 29, 2025 2:56 am

The concept of deep water desalination has been around for decades, but only in recent years has the enabling technology been available. Innovations pioneered by the oil and gas industry to better service offshore drilling platforms have matured. These include...

Ringside: How to Add 10 Million Acre Feet Per Year to California’s Water Supply

April 30, 2025 3:52 pmApril 30, 2025 3:52 pm

There is a good chance that a Californian is going to be nominated to become the new Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. One source of opposition to his confirmation could be senators representing states that share with California the...

Ringside: Desalination at Scale is Cost Competitive

March 13, 2025 3:30 amMarch 13, 2025 3:31 am

On May 22, 2022, the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to deny final approval for a desalination plant in Huntington Beach. It would have produced 56,000 acre feet of fresh water per year, and would have been privately financed. To...

Ringside: Harvesting Urban Storm Runoff

March 7, 2024 2:15 amMarch 7, 2024 2:16 am

In a normal year, by the end of March downtown Los Angeles receives 13 inches of rain. Last year 27.8 inches fell, and through March 3 of this year, 21.3 inches has already fallen. This suggests that both this year...

Ringside: Comparing the Delta Tunnel versus Desalination

February 1, 2024 6:57 amFebruary 2, 2024 6:27 am

Debates over the efficacy of water projects often focus on the monthly cost to end users. For example, in May 2022, a few days before the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to deny the final permit to build a desalination plant in...

Environmentally Friendly Delta Diversions Can Increase Water to California’s Cities and Farms

December 7, 2022 2:45 amDecember 6, 2022 9:11 pm

When it comes to cost-effective ways to increase the supply of water to California’s cities and farms, every idea should be considered. The residential, commercial and industrial water requirements of California’s 40 million people add up to about 8 million...

The Abundance Choice, Part 12: Numbers Don’t Lie

June 7, 2022 2:30 amJune 7, 2022 4:13 pm

Scope insensitivity happens whenever a statistic has huge emotional impact but in reality has little relevance to the issues and challenges it purports to illuminate. It is scope insensitivity that makes conscientious Californians willing to put a bucket in their shower....