This is a talk on seawater desalination I gave in Seaside California on October 19th, 2010. It is divided in two parts. Part I contains information on seawater desalination and how the process can impact the marine environment. Part II provides specific examples of how brine discharged from these plants can affect species, especially eggs and developing young. It ends with an illustration of how water recycling could be a better long-term solution to our looming water crisis on the Monterey Peninsula and in the State of California.

1. Desalination of
The Sea Around Us, Part II
Learn About
– Desalination methods
– Marine ecosystem impacts
– Benefits of renewable
water
Tuesday, October 19 @ 6:30 pm
Peace Resource Center
1364 Fremont Blvd, Seaside
Sustainable Seaside presents
Carol Reeb, Ph.D.
Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University

2. Hello and thanks for joining me.
This is a talk on seawater desalination I gave
in Seaside California on October 19th, 2010. It is
divided in two parts.
Part II provides specific examples of how
brine discharged from desalination plants affect
species, especially eggs and developing young. It
ends with an illustration of how water recycling could
be a better long-term solution to our looming water
crisis on the Monterey Peninsula and in the State of
California.
Thank you for listening.
C. Reeb

3. Part II
Biological Effects
Renewable Water

4. Desalination
Plant
Desalination’s
Environmental Impacts
High Salt
and
Toxic Chemicals
CO2
CO2
Brine
D
ischarge

5. Osmosis
(Diffusion of Water)
H2O
H2O
ADD
SALT
Sea salinities: Monterey Bay = 33 - 34 ppt
Red Sea = 36 - 41 ppt
Reverse Osmosis Brine = 62 - 70 ppt
Dehydration causes physiological stress.

6. • Sea Grass: Posidonia oceanica.
• Endemic to Mediteranean Sea.
• Rapid death at 39 ppt
Biological Effects of Brine
Photo: Albert Kok, Wikimedia commons

7. Need For Monitoring Programs
Drawn from information in: Lattemann and Höpner. 2008. Environmental impact and impact assessment
of seawater desalination. Desalination 220:1-15.
Desalination Plants

8. Desalination Plant Threatens Giant Australian Cuttlefish
Point Lowly, Spencer Gulf, South Australia.
Potential Impact of Desalination
Plant at Point Lowly:
• Dispersal of brine takes two years
because mixing rate is slow within
Spencer Gulf.
• Brine can accumulate.
•Lab Tests Show:
• Embryo survival decreases as
brine reaches 45 ppt.
• No embryos survive above 50 ppt.
• Point Lowly Cuttlefish are a
genetically unique population.
Source: Dupavillon and Gillanders
Marine Environmental Research 67 (2009) 207–218
Photo of Sepia apama from wikimedia commons

9. Desalination Plant Threatens Giant Australian Cuttlefish
Point Lowly, Spencer Gulf, South Australia.
Potential Impact of Desalination
Plant at Point Lowly:
• Dispersal of brine takes two years
because mixing rate is slow within
Spencer Gulf.
• Brine can accumulate.
•Lab Tests Show:
• Embryo survival decreases as
brine reaches 45 ppt.
• No embryos survive above 50 ppt.
• Point Lowly Cuttlefish are a
genetically unique population.
Source: Dupavillon and Gillanders
Marine Environmental Research 67 (2009) 207–218
Photo of Sepia apama from wikimedia commons

10. Market Squid Nurseries lie on Sandy Seafloors where brine is
to be discharged.
Map From: www.sanctuarysimon.org,
plant locations from Cooley et al., 2006, Pacific Institute.
Proposed
No brine
Plant Turned Off
8 Desalination
Plants
Photo Credit:

11. California Market Squid
(Fishery in Monterey, CA since 1860)
• California’s Fishery: $20-$40 M/yr
• Essential habitat: Sandy seafloor (brine discharged here).
• Brine tolerance: Unknown
Photo: L. Zeiberg
Photo: C. Reeb

12. California Grunion
Source: Lethal and Sublethal Effects of Altered Sand
Salinity on Embryos of Beach-Spawning California
Grunion. Copeia 2008, No. 2, 484–491
From Monterey County Weekly, July 16, 2009:
“Grunion Greeters welcome the amazing fish ashore in Monterey.”
Grunion Run In Southern California
Photo credit: “Grunion Greeters”, San Diego, CA.
• Value: Tourist attraction.
• Critical Habitat: Beach sand.
• Brine tolerance: Survival drops at 40 ppt.
• Larval deformities increase .
• Salinity above 50 ppt is lethal.

13. Black Abalone
Proposed Black Abalone Critical Habitat
• ESA listed as endangered in 2009.
• Operation of desalination plants:
“may threaten black abalone habitat”.
Source: Federal Register Vol 75, No. 187, 2010
Photo: Wikipedia

14. Are There Biological Monitoring Programs,
Policies, and Regulations?
National Ocean Policy Bill

15. Conclusions
Possible Impacts to Marine Life in Monterey Bay
• Eggs and developing larvae are most vulnerable.
– Mollusks
• Market Squid
– Brine discharged on sandy seafloor
» squid nurseries
• Black abalone (ESA-listed)
– Sea Grasses
• Off Elkhorn Slough
– small Eelgrass beds (Zostera marina)
» Important for crabs, oysters, others?
– Nearshore fish
• California Grunion, others?

16. Renewable WaterRenewable Water

17. Monterey Peninsula’s Future Water Budget Mandated
Under State Order (95-10)
Carmel River 3,400 AF
(under CDO 95-10)
Sand City Desal 300 AF
Seaside Aquifer 3,800 AF 7500 AF
Potable Water Sources
Total Water Used in 2010
12,400 AF (Source: MPWMD, Oct. 2010)

18. Carmel River 3,400 AF
(under CDO 95-10)
Sand City Desal 300 AF
Seaside Aquifer 3,800 AF 7500 AF
Potable Water Sources
Total Water Used in 2010
12,400 AF (Source: MPWMD, Oct. 2010)Phase I Desalination Plant
+ 8,800 AF
16,300 AF
(4000 extra)
Cost: $380 M
Monterey Peninsula’s Future Water Budget Mandated
Under State Order (95-10)

19. Why Not Recycle Our Water?
• Waste water can become potable “Safe Water”
• Same Reverse Osmosis Technology
• Half the Cost
– Uses less energy, saves $
• only one pass through RO filters (seawater requires two).
• Less Brine Waste Produced
– Salinity lower
– Less impact to marine environment
From: Desalination, With a Grain of Salt
A California Perspective.
Cooley et al., 2006, Pacific Institute.

20. Carmel River 3,400 AF
(under CDO 95-10)
Sand City Desal 300 AF
Seaside Aquifer 3,800 AF 7500 AF
Potable Water Sources
12,400 AF in 2010
Monterey Peninsula’s Future Water Budget Mandated
Under State Order (95-10)

21. Carmel River 3,400 AF
(under CDO 95-10)
Sand City Desal 300 AF
Seaside Aquifer 3,800 AF 7500 AF
Potable Water Sources
12,400 AF in 2010
Greywater 1500 AF
For ever gallon used, reuse 20%.
Regional Urban Water Project
Wastewater Recycling (40%)
2,700 AF
11,700 AF in 2011
Monterey Peninsula’s Future Water Budget Mandated
Under State Order (95-10)

22. Carmel River 3,400 AF
(under CDO 95-10)
Sand City Desal 300 AF
Seaside Aquifer 3,800 AF 7500 AF
Potable Water Sources
12,400 AF in 2010
Greywater 1500 AF
For ever gallon used, reuse 20%.
Regional Urban Water Project
Wastewater Recycling (40%)
2,700 AF
11,700 AF in 2011
+ 1700 AF/yr (40%).
+
Monterey Peninsula’s Future Water Budget Mandated
Under State Order (95-10)

23. Carmel River 3,400 AF
(under CDO 95-10)
Sand City Desal 300 AF
Seaside Aquifer 3,800 AF 7500 AF
Potable Water Sources
12,400 AF in 2010
Renewable Water
Over time, an infinite supply,
dependent on storage.
Greywater 1500 AF
For ever gallon used, reuse 20%.
Regional Urban Water Project
Wastewater Recycling (40%)
2,700 AF
11,700 AF in 2011
+ 1700 AF/yr (40%).
+
Monterey Peninsula’s Future Water Budget Mandated
Under State Order (95-10)

24. Carmel River 3,400 AF
(under CDO 95-10)
Sand City Desal 300 AF
Seaside Aquifer 3,800 AF 7500 AF
Potable Water Sources
12,400 AF in 2010
Renewable Water
Over time, an infinite supply,
dependent on storage.
13,400 AF in 2012
15,100 AF in 2013
16,800 AF in 2014
18,500 AF in 2015
Greywater 1500 AF
For ever gallon used, reuse 20%.
Regional Urban Water Project
Wastewater Recycling (40%)
2,700 AF
11,700 AF in 2011
+ 1700 AF/yr (40%).
+
Monterey Peninsula’s Future Water Budget Mandated
Under State Order (95-10)

25. 100 Years of Central Coast Rainfall
Water Year (Oct – Sept) Source: Western Regional Climate Center
“Normal”
2010
Precipitation(inches)

26. 100 Years of Central Coast Rainfall
Water Year (Oct – Sept) Source: Western Regional Climate Center
“Normal”
2010
Precipitation(inches)
San Clemente
Dam
Los Padres
Dam “Super” Dams Proposed
Voters Reject Desal,
Dam

27. 100 Years of Central Coast Rainfall
Water Year (Oct – Sept) Source: Western Regional Climate Center
“Normal”
2010
Precipitation(inches)
San Clemente
Dam
Los Padres
Dam “Super” Dams Proposed
Voters Reject Desal,
Dam
Desalination
…by 2016?

28. 100 Years of Central Coast Rainfall
Water Year (Oct – Sept) Source: Western Regional Climate Center
Precipitation(inches)
50,000
150,000
250,000
350,000
PopulationOfMontereyCo.
Source:USCnsus
0
20
30
10
40
50
60
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 20201880
2006

29. Monterey Peninsula could have lots of water…
• Conservation
– “WaterWise” landscaping
• In Oct. 2009, water use dropped by 60% when the rains began.
• “Collection”
– Storm drains
– Rainfall catchment
– Air conditioning/dehumidifier condensation
• Storage
– Dams
• Dredge Los Padres regularly.
– Aquifer Banking**
• For example, ASR (Seaside Aquifer Storage of Carmel River water)
– Community Water Storage Tanks
– Residential Storage
• Cisterns

30. Photo: C. Reeb
Squid Boats on Monterey Bay