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Uploaded: Friday, July 30, 2010, 3:26 PM
Letter: A drought of facts
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by Elizabeth Cermak
In response to Loren Moore and Adam Scows' letter "The De-Salt Treaty" from the July 16 edition of the Pacific Sun:
Having been a manufacturer of small-scale desalinations systems for 13 years I know a little bit about the technology involved. I became slightly incensed when I came across blatant misinformation portrayed in Moore's and Scow's letter regarding the possibility of a Marin Municipal Water District desalination plant. I am not interested in making a case for or against the project but I believe that the MMWD generally has Marin's interest at heart in that they want to continue to provide good quality water to the ratepayer regardless of potential future droughts. Imagine the public outcry if we entered a sustained drought and there was no plan in place to provide adequate supplies of potable water. I can hear it now "how come MMWD didn't build that desalination plant when they were talking about it!"
My issue is with the misinformation portrayed in Moore's and Scow's letter. They state, "A desalination plant would kill marine life that is sucked into the plant and the discharge of salty brine would threaten the bay's delicate ecosystem." First, the plant will have big screens to prevent fish from being sucked into the plant and, secondly, MMWD spent a ton of money studying the pretreatment process and chose an "ultra" filtration system as the best method. The ultra filters sit in big vats and filter out all the microorganisms, silt and the like. When they get dirty all this material rich in biological mass gets flushed back into the bay where it belongs. The second bit of nonsense is that the "salty brine" will threaten the bay's delicate ecosystem." This has been studied time and again, not just by MMWD, but in dozens of areas around the globe. The result is that with some attention to how the brine is distributed back into the ecosystem there is no deleterious effects.
Finally they state, "Citizens are concerned that desalination may be unable to properly filter some toxins and pharmaceuticals in the bay." Please! What do the experts who understand the process think? What are the facts? The fact is the reverse osmosis is the benchmark system for water treatment, which is why all U.S. military systems utilize the process. The water quality coming out of a reverse osmosis plant is generally more pure that what is coming out of our taps today.
Both sides of the debate are entitled to their opinions, but should be honest in how they portray them. Slanting opinions with misinformation doesn't serve the public interests at all.
Bill Edinger, president Spectra Watermakers Inc, San Rafael
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Posted by Science Guy, a resident of the Fairfax neighborhood, on Aug 4, 2010 at 3:38 pm What - No comments from the Flat Earth Society led by water Luddites like Bill Rothman, Larry Rose, and Ford Greene?
These guys use lies and fear to try to get people to believe that membrane processes are not capable of removing contaminants from water.
Thanks Bill for helping to spread the truth about MMWD's proposed desalination project.
Want learn about seawater desalination without California's provincial propaganda? Have a peek at what the Australians have found. They started off fearful of environmental impacts because they love their ocean just like folks in Marin love SF Bay. But they put their best scientists to work and found desalination is a low impact water supply - especially when compared to dams.
Check out this link to view a real desalination intake and brine discharge surrounded by thriving marine life, including delicate seahorse. Click on "Under the Surface" to see a video of reality, which is nothing like the propaganda you read from the Flat Earth Society.
Web Link
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Posted by Loren Moore, a resident of the Mill Valley neighborhood, on Aug 5, 2010 at 10:44 pm Science Guy - your statement clarifies the need for the public to vote on this important issue. MMWD is pushing forward with an expensive water conversion plant that is not needed and they have hidden it from the public. Surfrider Foundation, Food and Water Watch, Sustainable Fairfax and several other civic groups have confronted MMWD about the wisdom and justification of such a plant for two years. Our arguments fall deaf ears. The board members are determined to push forward with this unnecessary project and they don't want the public to know about it. Our initiative is simple - let the rate payers decide if they want to pay for a $400 water conversion facility over the next thirty years. For two years we have pleaded with the board to put this project to a vote. Through a six month public debate the public would become informed about the necessity of desalination, its costs and its environmental impacts. MMWD board would present their rationale for the plant and we the opposition would present the numerous reasons why it's not needed and why increased conservation can carry us through any drought. The point is - have the public debate, present the arguments to the people, and let the voters decide. Don't let a small group of arrogant elites lock the ratepayers into an expensive and unnecessary plant for the next thirty years. The board resists our pleas because they know the voters would never approve an expensive desalination plant in a region that consistently receives 40 to 50 inches of rain a year.
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