Droughts have cost $184.2 billion in damages in the last 40 years, with lost crops and livestock. In addition to the monetary impact, the disruption and loss of working farm land and families are incalculable. Droughts also leave forests in danger of destruction.
Due to the continued shortage of water from droughts and the devastation to crops, land and animals, the U.S. needs to make this a top priority. Our water supply requires protection and expert distribution design to prevent further threats and destruction to our food sources.
This condition has greatly reduced the sources of water to communities and farmers. The Colorado River is running short of water, the Mississippi River suffers transport disruptions, aquifers are low, and reservoirs and dams are at their lowest points. What can be done to reverse this serious status? Some states have attempted cloud seeding, but even under the best of circumstances, there is only a possibility of a 10-30% increase, if there are moisture-holding clouds to seed.
Desalination in the Middle East
For decades the countries in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Israel, and Kuwait) have successfully used desalination for the production of clean water. Israel, through the use of water distribution, has been able to increase the self-sustaining production of all types of crops including areas of the Sinai Peninsula.
Desalination Plants & A National Water Pipeline
The U.S. has seawater on 3 sides with an extensive coastline. At the present time, there are approximately 117 desalination plants in operation around the country using varied processes to turn salt water into clean drinking water, but they are in regional areas for limited production and distribution.
Brackish water plants are seeing a rise in usage, but there is still limited access to sufficient quantities of unprocessed water and widespread distribution.
According to recent cost estimates, one desalination plant with high output is about $1 billion. The cost of the pipeline is roughly $7 – $10 million per mile for labor and materials. This is also dependent on materials, terrain or buried.
The water pipeline would be able to keep aquifers charged, reservoirs full and critical sources like the Colorado River and Mississippi River with full flow. By directing the distribution of the desalinated water through well-designed distribution pipelines, it could be piped to the needed areas to provide water for our food sources.
Protecting and controlling our water supply should be a national security issue to keep our food supply safe.
The benefits would outweigh the price. This is an investment that would benefit everyone by providing a national water security plan.
Desalination Processes
There are currently two processes in operation to remove salt and impurities from seawater. The initial process was Thermal Desalination or distillation, using heat to evaporate sea water that condenses the vapor. The most efficient to date is Reverse Osmosis (RO), which forces water through a membrane at high pressure. The salt and impurities are retained since the salt and impurities cannot pass through the membrane due to the size of the particles.
RO systems are the most energy-efficient and can be run by alternative energy or in combination with fossil fuels. Distillation requires lots of heat to evaporate the seawater for processing.
Water and Food Crisis
Recently in the news, Tijuana, Mexico, demanded more water related to an arrangement with the U.S. from the 1940s. A new pecan orchard planted near the border needed additional water since nuts require more water than most other crops.
Additionally, because of the lack of water in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, a decision was made to reduce the citrus crops for this year due to lack of water. The situation has also affected sugar plants. There are currently 3 sugar processing plants in the area, but the decision was made to close one due to drought.
In California, the fertile farmland of the San Joaquin Valley has not received adequate water in years. Some of this is due to the decision of Gov Newsom to protect a fish, the Delta Smelt, which requires them to let a vast amount of water into the Pacific Ocean instead of letting it flow south to the critical farm land, dams, and aquifers.
This shortage of water has affected our food supply both plant and animal. If our ability to grow crops and graze cattle is reduced, we will reach a critical mass of destruction and a shortage of food. The wheat harvest can be affected in the heartland. Grazing land must stay vigorous and healthy for all of the grazing animals.
If land is continuously removed from food production, we will reach a crisis level of food production. Our country must be able to provide healthy food for our people at a minimum.
Difficulties and Surprising Benefits
The main drawback of desalination is the leftover brine and materials. The original process dumped the leftover water composition back into the ocean. Due to the concentration of the brine solution, this disrupted the ecological balance of marine life and caused harm to sea life and plants. Another solution used is pumping it into a deep well for brine mining.
However, there is another possible option. Sell the brine water to brine mining companies. That would help recover desalination operating costs. For example, the brine could be piped to the Great Salt Lake, where there is a concentration of several companies are mining the brine for the contents which include minerals, chemicals, and metals. It could also, be piped to other brine mining companies who could be located close to the desalination plants.
Brine water contents include sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and hydrochloric acid (source of hydrogen), which can also be used for cleaning parts of the desalination plant. Others are sodium sulfate (Glauber’s salt), potassium sulfate, magnesium chloride for metal magnesium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, lithium, bromine, copper, and boron. There are approximately 7 companies mining brine from the Great Salt Lake, such as Morton Salt, Great Salt Lake Minerals & Chemicals, Akzo Salt, and American Salt. According to experts, enough magnesium could be recovered to supply the needs of the US.
Because of the lack of rain, the water levels have decreased immensely in the Great Salt Lake. Piping the brine to the lake would maintain a healthy level for continued brine mining.
There are several brine mining companies around the country. Some specialize in mining brine from the production of oil to recover these needed and valued minerals and salts.
No Time To Wait
The cost of the desalination plants and long-range distribution pipelines is affordable. According to current figures in the budget that have been spent on unidentifiable results, our country could easily install these plants to sustain people, crops, and livestock. Our infrastructure project funds have been diverted, resulting in neglected and deteriorating infrastructure. The water supply should be considered infrastructure like roads and bridges. This is a necessity – not a luxury. There is no longer time to “patch” the water problem. We need a national approach to provide adequate quantities of water to ensure our food chain. Dependence on other countries is not an option. Because of the time needed to get the system producing clean water, this project cannot be put in place on short notice. Now is the time to begin, so our country will be prepared to address further droughts by ensuring an ample water supply.
