Do folks here understand the expense and energy use associated with desalination plants?

[Gormy Cuss]

100. Better water usage by agriculture would go a long way towards addressing water shortages.

Agriculture is far and away the biggest consumer of potable water in this state. All the consumer and office park conservation efforts are important but the net effect is small.

And while it doesn't seem possible, much of the country could still enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables for much of the year without California imports. They'd be more expensive and there would be less variety but there would be only a couple of months without 'fresh' fruits and vegetables because many store well for months and modern commercial greenhouses allow even tomatoes to be grown in the dead of winter in places like Maine.

While CreekDog has been snarky about it, his core comments about desalination are spot on. Desalination is expensive and largely unnecessary in the northern part of CA. There may be an argument for it in the southern part of the state (most of SoCal away from the coast naturally IS desert after all.) Like you, I don't know a lot about it in terms of costs vs. alternatives.


p.s. AFAIK CreekDog lives in the SF Bay area too.