Coleridge was not writing about Santa Monica in this poem but he may as well have been. Santa Monica, like all of coastal Southern California, sits next to the Pacific Ocean, the world’s largest body of water but because of the salt, the water is undrinkable.

This could soon change, however, as local water experts consider the possibility of removing the salt from the ocean to make it drinkable in a process known as desalination.

It is a myth the greater Los Angeles area is a desert but its semi-arid climate still does not produce enough water to sustain the nearly 20 million residents.

In fact, 90 percent of the drinking water for the areas comes from either the Colorado River or Nothern California.

(LINK).