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Home> Water & Environment > Water Supply > Current Projects > Desalination Project
Desalination Project Desalination (or desalinization or desalting) removes salts from the ocean or other salty water to produce fresh water through distillation or filtration. EBMUD studied desalination as a water source in the early 1990s, but at the time it was not a feasible alternative because of high cost and environmental impacts associated with brine disposal. Brine is the waste product of desalination that contains the removed salts and impurities. Recent improvements in desalination technology and costs have led EBMUD to reconsider desalination alternatives. Bay Area Regional Desalination Project The Bay Area’s four largest water agencies, the Contra Costa Water District, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, are jointly exploring the development of regional desalination facilities that would benefit over 5.4 million Bay Area residents and businesses served by these agencies. The Bay Area Regional Desalination Project could consist of one or more desalination facilities, with an ultimate total capacity of up to 71 million gallons per day. The regional desalination project would:
The Phase 1 Pre-Feasibility Study concluded that there are at least three locations in the Bay Area where a regional desalination facility could be located: a site in East Contra Costa County; a site in Oakland near the Bay Bridge; and an oceanside site in San Francisco (refer to map for further details). A Phase 2 Pre-Feasibility Study was conducted to further analyze the three sites and to better define the desalination project facilities, conveyance options, and institutional issues. A Feasibility Study, partially funded (50%) under the State Proposition 50 Chapter 6a Program, was completed in June 2007 and developed additional information on potential benefits, appropriate technologies, environmental impacts, and costs of the various options. A pilot test is currently underway at Contra Costa Water District’s Mallard Slough Pump Station site in the eastern part of Contra Costa County to collect data on technical feasibility (pretreatment options, membrane performance, and design parameters) and the environmental impacts (brine disposal and marine life). The pilot test is also partially funded under the Proposition 50 Chapter 6a Program. Available
Publications Seawater
Desalination in California (15kb) For more information on this project, please contact Hasan Abdullah, Desalination Project Coordinator at habdulla@ebmud.com or (510) 287-0550.
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