South Bay Politician Wants To Consider Desalinating Water Despite Environmental Concerns
SAN JOSE (KCBS)— Despite environmental concerns, one South Bay politician says cities and counties should seriously consider using desalination technology to supply desperately needed drinking water.
With the drought dragging into its fourth year, Dave Cortese is daring to imagine what extreme water scarcity might look like.
"You can't get to a situation where people can't turn tap water on in their homes. You get to that stage and we're at the level of a third-world country," he said.
The president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors says the county should start looking at desalination technology; the process of removing salt from sea water to make drinking water.
Cortese pointed out that Santa Barbara is restarting its old desalination plant.
"They've just invested about $40 million in desalination. It's something that we may have to look at accelerating here. There are mobile desalination plants that you might be able to bring up here, literally ship-bound. We're going to have to start looking at things like that in the near future," he said.
Environmentalists say desalination has major drawbacks. Aside from being an energy hog, they say water intake pipes and brine waste-water can harm marine life.
Cortese says desalination should be at least considered as an idea in the coming months.