Environmental Effects of the Desalination of Water

Desalination is a process that removes chemicals or minerals like salt from water. Typically, it's used to purify ocean water. For people living in areas of the world without large bodies of fresh water, desalination can be an important way to provide safe sources of water to those in need. Still, like most processes induced by man, the desalination of large amounts of water is not without its drawbacks. Companies and individuals should keep in mind certain environmental effects that accompany desalination.

Intake

• For seawater desalination to occur, the company performing this process must have an intake of water that it intends to treat. Often, this intake system can cause environmental harm and ecological problems. First, building this intake system physically alters the water-floor habitat and can force the existing ecosystem to adapt, sometimes for the worse. Additionally, sea life can get caught and killed in intake screens and in the intake system itself. This is especially true for smaller marine organisms.

Outtake and Brine

• The process of desalination also requires an outtake system, through which the chemicals and salt taken from the water is reintroduced to the ocean in a form of saline brine. Although some companies try to dilute this brine before reintroducing it, even slightly elevated levels of natural chemicals could potentially alter the ecosystem and could endanger marine life in the area.

Other Desalination Plant Effects

• Besides the intake and outtake systems, desalination plants can also cause damage in other forms. The systems and pipes must be cleaned regularly for optimum operation, and any chemicals used in this cleaning, such as chlorine, could potentially leak into the ocean and disrupt marine ecosystems. Additionally, just the noise and vibrations from the desalination process could encourage marine life that once lived in the area to move on, again throwing off the entire ecosystem. Finally, desalination plants often lead to slightly increased temperatures in the water surrounding the plant. This, again, could damage or even kill some of the marine lifeforms that once lived in the area.

Energy and Greenhouses Gases

• Finally, companies should take into account the amount of energy used and the greenhouse gases given off at desalination plants, as with any factories or forms of industries. If a company cannot get the amount of energy used or air pollution emitted from a desalination facility down to recommended levels, it may not be environmentally responsible to continue. Being aware of this potential environmental drawback and others, however, allows companies that are interested in desalination to find ways to minimize damage to marine ecosystems while providing safe, fresh water for nearby residents.