Desal won’t save California from its thirst, because….
Groundwater keeps shrinking, reservoirs keep drying. Is it time for California to use desalinization to increase its depleted water supplies? How California gets water? To be clear, California already has 11 operating desalinization plants of varying sizes and around 10 more pending approval.
The Claude Bud Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in Carlsbad is the largest desal plant in the country.
Lake Oroville, an important reservoir in Butte County, had sunk to 49% of capacity by July 1. Lake Shasta was at 39% capacity. Those are only two of many depleted reservoirs in the state’s water storage system. Every one of California’s 58 counties is under a drought emergency proclamation. As analysts know, drought drives California policy. So what has changed since the last drought?