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Santa Cruz County needs desalination, officials say

Posted by: Maven on March 20, 2009 at 6:17 am

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Soquel — Santa Cruz County is using water faster than rainfall can recharge local aquifers, and if the drought continues, a new desalination plant will be key to maintaining the quality of life, water officials said Wednesday. Information on desalination was presented to the public by officials of the city of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District, as well as a water taste-testing exercise.

Desalination — taking sea water and removing the salt so it’s drinkable — could provide a backup source to relieve drought, and provide up to 20 percent of the county’s water needs, 2.5 million gallons per day.

A jointly formed task force created by Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District is evaluating a potential full-scale desalination plant to act as a supplemental supply source.

A pilot program under way at the University of Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory has been creating desalted, drinkable water. Members of the public were invited to sample some, and compare it to other water samples taken from around Santa Cruz County. The taste testing was conducted blind; participants didn’t know where each of five samples came from, but were asked to rate each, good, bad, whether it had an odor or left an aftertaste.

Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel by clicking here.

March 20, 2009 · Filed Under Desalination

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