Humans cannot survive on salt water alone - unless, of course, the salt is removed. Over the last 50 years in seaside population centers where drinking water is scarce, desalination plants have been built that turn salt water into fresh water. At present, no desal plants purifying sea water are operating in west central Florida. The Southwest Florida Water Management District and other agencies and local governments intend to have seawater desalination plants operating in the future. One way to purify salt water is through a process called distillation .
Distillation means heating the water until it boils and turns into steam.
The steam is then collected in a separate container. When the steam cools and returns to liquid form, it is pure enough to drink. The problem with this method is that it requires a vast amount of energy to produce small amounts of purified water. The expense of the energy has caused most places to seek alternatives other than saltwater distillation. Another new technology used to desalinate water is called reverse osmosis .