OP-ED....Water water everywhere.....

     Water Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink

    About 60% of all developed water sources come from the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the form of snow melt and rain runoff.

    The world's largest fresh water reservoir (in the form of snow pack) is right here in California.

   Snow melt finds its way through mountain streams, tributaries and large river systems eventually making its way toward California's delta.

   Much is expelled to the Pacific Ocean.  Over the years, dams and reservoirs have been built to meet the state's current and future drinking, industrial and agricultural needs.

    Proposals as grand as two large tunnels syphoning water at locations in the delta that will not affect its ecology, to building ore dams and water storage have been proposed to meet California's growing needs.

   That's all good if you have a reliable a reliable source in which either plan can be implemented.

   California no longer can rely on abundant and reliable sources of precipitation and snowmelt.

   In the past 100 years we have seen a steady decline in snowpack.  Snowpack in one region (there are 3) has declined as much as 23 %.

   I am aware the southern Sierra has seen a slight increase in snowpack, however not nearly enough to offset the total decline.

   For those of you who want to argue that the decline is a direct cause of man's industrialization or simply a natural warming cycle of the earth that occurs like clockwork over history, go ahead and debate the issue until the cows come home.

   I am interested in solving problems, not just talking about them.

   Water conservation and recycling is a must, but we still need to find new sources if we can no longer rely on mother nature.

   Drag an iceberg from the north pole, they are melting too.  Comets are mostly water. Scientists theorize comets were earth's original and only source of H2O way back when.

   I am not sure how we would coax a comet to land on our planet without annihilating the human race.

   The polar vortex is causing the eastern portion of the US to experience unusually wet winters.   Can we figure out how to steer it to the west? 

    So where are the new sources of water  going to come from if we no longer can depend on past precipitation and snow melt if conservation and recycling is not enough? 

   But wait! Didn't I see on the news recently a visit from the prime minister of Israel to our very own governor extolling the virtues of sea water desalinization, and how it has played an important part in the development of their country?

  The largest desalinization facility being built in the western hemisphere is right here in California.

   A private American company (Poseidon Water) will own and operate this facility in Carlsbad.

   They will receive only revenue from water that is delivered.  The technology, considered the most advanced and efficient, is Israeli in origin (IDE Technologies).

   This is most likely the technology the prime minister of Israel was trying to sell our governor.

   Developed decades ago, reverse osmosis pushes water through microscopic sieves clearing it of any impurities.

      Although the cost associated with reverse osmosis is twice as expensive as current costs to procure water, it is expected to fall as technology advances (primarily in filter design) are implemented and the reduced costs from solar and other forms of electricity generation offset reverse osmosis' appetite for power.

   The $1 billion project cost is borne totally by private developers. (Here is another good example of private companies delivering public services, see my previous op-ed).

   The 6-acre site will produce 50 million gallons per day of drinking water to over 112,000 residents of San Diego County by 2016.

   The same facility is scheduled to double its production by 2020.  Developers say desalination water rates (projected at $2000  per acre foot) will become competitive with current rates in the very near future.

   That's good enough for me because there might not be any imported water to be competitive with.

   And for those who have an opposing opinion or a better solution to the world's largest reservoir, the Sierra Nevada, let the policy makers in Sacramento know.

    Tunnels, dams, and the creation of additional water storage facilities (including filling empty underground aquifers which now seems the most popular water storage fix) won't work unless there is a reliable source to fill them with.

   Based on actual cost to build a desalination facility like Carlsbad, 40 or so can be built with the proposed costs ($20-40 billion) to build the twin tunnels and could supply fresh drinking water to over 5 million thirsty Californians.

  Money, most likely from taxpayers, would be better spent addressing the much more serious problem of our dwindling supply of fresh water sources.

   Although the production, cost and future projections are from press released and the Carlsbad Desalination Project's own information site, other desalination facilities around the world have achieved success with this process.

   I encourage readers who want additional information to visit the Poseidon Water (developer), IDE Technologies (builder and operator) and the San Diego Water Authority web sites.

   Mark Belden