Reply #16: The Coastal States Wouldn't Be Bearing The Costs

[Ghost in the Machine]

They would be profitting from selling the water to inland states and they would also be benifitting from a stronger economy caused by the jobs created.

The inland states *could* build their own pumping stations to help draw the water to them, but the coastal states *should* have some control over pumping, too.

It's a win/win situation for everyone, and could create jobs nationwide. They'll need crews working in every state getting pipelines installed, pumping stations built, etc., etc... We'll need truck drivers, equipment operators, pipefitters, welders, plumbers, boilermakers, laborers, carpenters, roofers, drywallers, painters, floor covering installers, concete pourers & finishers, iron workers, electricians, secretaries, project managers, supervisors, surveyors, engineers, architects, inside sales people, outside sales people, account reps and many other positions .... look at the jobs that can be created!

"Distillation plants having high capacities and using combustible fuels employ various devices to conserve heat. In the most common system a vacuum is applied to reduce the boiling point of the water, or a spray or thin film of water is exposed to high heat, causing flash evaporation; the water is flashed repeatedly, yielding fresh distilled water. This multistage flash distillation method is used in more than 2,000 desalination plants, including one in Saudi Arabia that produces 250 million gallons of freshwater per day.

Another method of desalination is by electrodialysis. When salt dissolves in water, it splits up into charged particles called ions. Placed in a container with a negative electrode at one end and a positive electrode at the other, the ions are filtered by the membranes as they are attracted toward the electrodes; they become trapped between semipermeable membranes, leaving outside the membranes a supply of desalinated water that can be tapped. The first large installation using this process began operating in South Africa in 1958, but its electrical demands make it impractical except where such energy is abundant.

By far the most promising approach is the reverse osmosis process, in which pressure is applied to saltwater to force it through a special membrane. Only pure water passes, leaving concentrated seawater behind. Where multistage flash distillation costs about $4 per 1,000 gallons, reverse osmosis costs about half that amount. This process is used by a plant in the Tampa Bay area, Florida, that produces 25 million gallons of drinking water a day. Another type uses an empty hollow sphere of semipermeable material that is lowered into the sea. The water flowing into the sphere is fresh, since the salt is excluded by the membrane that covers the entire sphere and is its guard.

One final approach is under development in Hawaii, where different layers of seawater display a large temperature differential. Here an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant is being built which will use steam produced by the flash method to produce energy, then condense the steam into freshwater. Three such plants could produce a hundred megawatts of power, as well as supply 30% of Hawaii's water needs."

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0851566.html