Large areas of Africa, Asia, Australia, and even parts of North America receive little or no rain and have long ago learned to adopt to year round drought conditions. The remaining fresh water supplies are divided between glaciers and other sources such as aquifers, lakes and rivers. The U.S. has always been blessed with ample fresh water, but burgeoning demand for the precious commodity due to population and industrial growth, coupled with changing weather patterns, have forced clear-thinking individuals to reevaluate the use of saltwater as a reliable drinking water source. Countries in the Middle East, the Mediterranean area and the Caribbean already use seawater desalination to meet their needs. At the same time, the cost of obtaining traditionally treated fresh water has risen and finding new supplies is getting harder.
Seawater is endless.
Over 50 years of desalting experience has shown that it works. Enhanced technologies and the lack of other viable options have clearly demonstrated that seawater desalination is an economical and reliable source and all coastal communities should seriously consider its use to meet their future water needs. I n April, the American Subcontractors Association conducted a survey of its membership to determine what issues concerned them the most. As to be expected, subcontractors ranked payment problems and lack of trained personnel at the top of the list of their gripes. But making a surprisingly strong showing among the ASA's survey list were risk management concerns.