Submitted Ideas

water supply–ocean desalination

Posted by David Manske | California, United States

There is a major push in California to build desalination plants to provide water to coastal communities throughout California. There are, of course, pros and cons. One of the major cons is that desal plants can negatively affect ocean life. Pipes on the seafloor can suck in (and kill) marine larvae, fish eggs, and some some all fish. The discharge of super-salty brine can also negatively affect marine life. The other side of that coin is that this is a "drought proof" resource.

The Benioff initiative could investigate:

the actual effect on connectivity, productivity, or even population of marine populations caused by these desalination facilities.