Desalination Regional Pilot Project
Desalination Sites Considered for Regional Pilot Study
Taking the salt out of briny water has always been possible but very expensive. Today, the costs are much lower but many questions remain about the environmental impacts. Because of the ready supply to the Bay Area it could create, however, investigation into this supply option continues. Four Bay Area water agencies (EBMUD, the Contra Costa Water District, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Santa Clara Valley Water District) are jointly exploring a regional desalination project that could:
- Provide emergency water supplies during earthquakes, Delta levee failures or other events;
- Provide supplemental water supplies during extended droughts;
- Provide alternate supplies when treatment plants, water pipelines, and pump stations need to be taken out of service for maintenance or repairs; and
- Improve overall local supply availability in the Bay Area.
Workplan Schedule
A pilot test in 2009 in eastern Contra Costa County collected data on technical feasibility and environmental impacts. A final report will be completed by early 2010 and next steps will be determined once the final report is completed.
For More Information
Hasan Abdullah, Desalination Project Coordinator
Email: habdulla@ebmud.com
Phone: (510) 287-0550
Published Studies and Other Resources
Three potential Bay Area locations for a regional desalination facility were identified: in eastern Contra Costa County, in Oakland near the Bay Bridge, and in San Francisco (see map below). Information about desalination and the membrane process tested in the pilot study also is available below. The final report on the pilot study will be published when it becomes available in 2010.
These documents are PDF files that can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free software.
