California has a budget surplus, and drought. Why aren't we building desalination plants?
Having lived in California since 1968, I have experienced many, many droughts. One must understand that much of California, especially from the Bay Area south, is an arid region. We in the Coachella Valley live in a desert region. I have read that California has not added much in the way of water storage for the last 40 years while the population has doubled. Our state, county and city officials seem to want more construction of homes and businesses, which is positive but having a reliable water supply is essential.
California has about 1,000 miles of coastline along the Pacific Ocean. I understand that Israel generates 55% of its drinking and usable water via desalination and plans to do more. Our state has nearly $100 billion of a budget surplus, yet we face continual droughts that climate change measures will not help. After all, when didn't the climate change and why shouldn't the climate change as it always has? Our area used to be the bottom of a sea.
Our leadership should seriously consider using the budget surplus to invest in and/or subsidize ocean water desalination plants. No need to pump water from the Mississippi. We have all the water we need right along our coast. Maybe a bit more expensive but let's control and manage our state's water supply with a large budget surplus as a good stater. Using treated water for all the golf courses could help as well.
Barry Morgan, Rancho Mirage
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This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California should build desalination plants with budget surplus
