California's water problems are entirely artificial. There is this endangered fish called the Delta Smelt. Biologists who get off on saving fish have admitted that literally nothing can be done to save it. The new flora and fauna in the area have permenantly altered the enviornment. So to save this fish, California turns off the water pumps after they suck up 305 of the little fuckers. Half of the usuable water washes into the ocean because of a watermelon judge.
A lot of the coastal cities have storm drain systems that drain rainwater directly into the ocean instead of trying to capture and process it to make it safe for irrigation if not drinking. Which is a much easier problem than trying to desalinate ocean water.
It wouldn't be the solution to CA's water problem, but it's a lot of water that's currently going to waste. But I suspect there's less potential for grift doing that than there is in building desalination plants.
California's water problems are entirely artificial. There is this endangered fish called the Delta Smelt. Biologists who get off on saving fish have admitted that literally nothing can be done to save it. The new flora and fauna in the area have permenantly altered the enviornment. So to save this fish, California turns off the water pumps after they suck up 305 of the little fuckers. Half of the usuable water washes into the ocean because of a watermelon judge.
A lot of the coastal cities have storm drain systems that drain rainwater directly into the ocean instead of trying to capture and process it to make it safe for irrigation if not drinking. Which is a much easier problem than trying to desalinate ocean water.
It wouldn't be the solution to CA's water problem, but it's a lot of water that's currently going to waste. But I suspect there's less potential for grift doing that than there is in building desalination plants.