Discharges to ocean and coastal waters from desalination plants is a concern for ocean resource management.
Desalination facilities use two basic technologies to extract potable water from seawater.
Reverse osmosis works by forcing seawater through a semipermeable membrane, which restricts salt and other minerals, but allows water molecules to pass through. The second method is distillation where seawater is heated to produce steam, which is then condensed to produce water with a low salt concentration and few of the other impurities contained in the original water. Desalination plants located in the coastal zone fall under the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Act, administered by the California Coastal Commission. If a facility were to be proposed in the San Francisco Bay Area, it would fall within the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. All rights reserved.