620 Policy Paper04/28/2013Seawater DesalinationDrought is no stranger to the state of California, particularly in the southern part of the state . California has been a technological creation since the first American settlers began migrating from the East. Its climate is naturally semi-arid. It was inevitable that a severe, prolonged drought would occur from time to time in a climatic region of this type. California has depended on rerouting natural waterways and has invested incredible sums in pumping water to Southern California. This is not just a California debacle, but a global debacle. According to the World Health Organization, 1 billion people do not have access to running water. An analysis by the World Resources Institute adds that 2.3 billion people, or 41% of the world's population, live in water-stressed areas, a figure expected to rise to 3.5 billion by 2025. To make matters worse, the world population is increasing by 80 million per year. and with it the demand for new sources of fresh water (7 p. 1). Water affects everyone and everything, including the economies of both developing and industrialized countries. “The current situation has increased the need for reliable water sources, especially during times of rationing across the state,” said Paul Shoenberger, deputy general manager of the West Basin Municipal Water District in Carson and president of a desalination organization. subcommittee of the Association of California Water Agencies. “Desalination is more available and is not tied to rain or snow. » The only methods to increase the water supply beyond what is available in the hydrological cycle are desalination and water reuse (8). Seawater desalination is the process of removing salt, other...... middle of paper..... . of films on liquids” (12). What things are bigger than 1 Angstrom? A few are bacteria, viruses, organic matter, and small planktonic organisms, but we'll get to those later (1). When membranes separate two types of water, the water molecules move from the less concentrated area to the more concentrated area in order to balance the ionic forces. To reverse the natural flow of water through the membrane, pressure greater than osmotic pressure must be applied to the concentrated solution. Offering pressures of 70 to 84 bars, 40 to 60% of seawater or brackish water is transformed into fresh water by reverse osmosis. The influential saline solution is divided into two phases. The permeate is the first which is fresh water free of particles and dissolved impurities and the second is the concentrated stream which is a brine enriched with suspended and dissolved solids. (1).