California Targets Private Property With Latest Water Well Fees, Charges: Report

[Larry Caldwell]

With rapidly dropping prices, desalination may be a major market for solar panels. Running the plants is the big expense. Desalination takes a lot of energy.

Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources: Energy Requirements of Desalination Processes

Energy Requirements of Desalination Processes is a part of Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources which gives the detailed table of the Energy requirements of desalinated water

www.desware.net

There are no major technical obstacles to desalination as a means of providing an unlimited supply of fresh water, but the high energy requirements of this process pose a major challenge. Theoretically, about 0.86 kWh of energy is needed to desalinate 1 m3 of salt water (34 500 ppm). This is equivalent to 3 kJ kg-1. The present day desalination plants use 5 to 26 times as much as this theoretical minimum depending on the type of process used. Clearly, it is necessary to make desalination processes as energy-efficient as possible through improvements in technology and economies of scale.

 

[Molalla1]

As a percentage how much water to residential vs AG/Industrial is always interesting.

A few good rain events would make a world of difference.

I don’t know anyone that had not cut back.

We do seem lacking in the storage side and even taking out century old dams because the rivers need to run free.

I realize things change but one of my draws to the Pacific Northwest is good and abundant water… having a well with great tasting water is amazing coming from always a water issue California…

You are right ultra . . . I have 2 wells and a spring fed pond on my 48 acres . . . sometimes when it rains ( ) water in places will squirt out of the ground like a drinking fountain.

 

[ruffdog]

Eat More Kelp -

.....and more insects. Crickets have about the same protein content as beef does and uses WAY less water to produce. And, 80% of the worlds population eats bugs in their diet.

 

[Eagle1]

.....and more insects. Crickets have about the same protein content as beef does and uses WAY less water to produce. And, 80% of the worlds population eats bugs in their diet.

I'll stick with my beef, venison, chicken, turkey, rabbit and pork all raised and fed on my little place. Do use crickets and worms to catch some fish when I want in my private pond. If you want some insects for your table just asked I'll ship you a box, otherwise I'll let the chickens, ducks and geese eat all they want.

 

[ponytug]

With rapidly dropping prices, desalination may be a major market for solar panels. Running the plants is the big expense. Desalination takes a lot of energy.

Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources: Energy Requirements of Desalination Processes

Energy Requirements of Desalination Processes is a part of Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources which gives the detailed table of the Energy requirements of desalinated water

www.desware.net

Desalination does take a great deal of energy. Through economisers and related technology (think turbochargers, but for water to recycle the energy invested in pressurizing the water) I believe that current state of the art is about 3X the theoretical limit (from the entropy of mixing). Still, lots of energy, and high capital costs, translates into high cost per unit volume. As was mentioned elsewhere here recently, there is a recent paper that illuminates a way to lowered energy and improved yield (volume/area/sec), but actuality may be a decade or so out. Still, improved yield means smaller plants, and lower capital costs.

There is the not so minor problem of what to do with the concentrated brine, especially if you don't live on a coast, where there are environmental impacts to ameliorate.

I'm thankful to have fairly ready access to clean water. Not that there aren't threats, like PFAS...recent article on how global rain is now contaminated with forever chemicals;

Rainwater is now unsafe to drink worldwide because of 'forever chemicals,' study suggests

A family of human-made chemicals, PFAS, are now found in every corner of Earth. Their presence has made rainwater unsafe to drink, a study suggests.

www.usatoday.com

All the best,

Peter

 

[JasperFrank]

Pickled bullwhip kelp is very tasty. It just takes days of sequential bathing in fresh water to get it good, before you put in the pickle brine. Its a very interesting thing to eat.

On my land, I've researched the water rights back to the original USA land grants.
All cut offs from the origin grant say you can't divert flowing ground water at all.
I guess this was a thing in the late 19th and early 20th century.
In the winter, I have a stream that is above the house and areas I store water. But technically, I can't divert any of it for my use. These water right liens, so far as I can tell, have never been enforced for 100 years. But legally, they still stand.

 

[Root Cause]

I think just in the wording of "per acre-foot" fee indicates that this is about agriculture, not your everyday homeowner who uses a well for basic water needs.

California produces 40% of the United States' fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The ground is running out of water after decades of an unlimited and largely unregulated water use.

It would be a massive scale project, but the central California coast has plenty of room to create massive desalination plants and use ocean water for agriculture. IMO the sooner we bite the bullet and find a sustainable solution to the groundwater crisis, the better. But the writing is on the wall. No matter who pays for it, thirsty crop agriculture in California is going to get much more expensive over the next couple of decades.

I read that a vote took place or was supposed to take place regarding a desalination plant.
The article stated that they expected the bill to die because of the environmental impact of sealife.
I agree though that under the circumstances, this should have been started 10 years ago.

 

[MossRoad]

Nuke powered desalination plants.

 

[ultrarunner]

At a penny a gallon I wonder what the cost per gallon would be?

The other factor is many water systems incorporate gravity to some extent do producing water at sea level would seem fighting gravity at every turn...

Knew a desalinization engineer from Austria that spent his career in Dubai where it is very much employed... if not Dubai then a neighboring country... he said decades ago is all it takes is commitment...

Maybe making salt could be part of the equation?

 

[ponytug]

At a penny a gallon I wonder what the cost per gallon would be?

The other factor is many water systems incorporate gravity to some extent do producing water at sea level would seem fighting gravity at every turn...

Knew a desalinization engineer from Austria that spent his career in Dubai where it is very much employed... if not Dubai then a neighboring country... he said decades ago is all it takes is commitment...

Maybe making salt could be part of the equation?

Yes desalination is widely used in wealthy Middle Eastern countries, where fresh water is in extremely limited supply, energy is cheap, and capital costs aren't an issue. Not a common combination elsewhere...

You are right, pumping water uphill gets expensive fast. Moving water from sea level fifty miles across Los Angeles to the hills is about the same cost as desalinating it. Places like Dubai are ideal; within 50' of sea level, and a few miles from the plant.

Check out the industrial price for sodium chloride sometime; it is right at the bottom of the table, along with glycerin. In some regions, glycerin is sold for less than the price of freight and the container, as it beats the disposal costs. Salt is about the same; slightly more than freight in most areas. Not like the glory days of yore in Salzburg.

All the best,

Peter