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kittenTakeover t1_ispcoa1 wrote

Can anyone clarify the economics of desalination for me? I consistently see stats that say that desalination costs around $3 per 1000 gallons or $0.003 per gallon. Similarly I see info saying that the US uses around 200 gallons per day per person. That equates to $219 per person a year. That seems cheap. What am I missing?

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gjallerhorns_only t1_istje1x wrote

It costs over 100 million to build a desalination plant and politicians don't want to drop the coin.

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kittenTakeover t1_istk5wt wrote

Are you saying high upfront cost is the only issue?

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gjallerhorns_only t1_isu4dbt wrote

As I understand it, it's that and maintenance that are the reason we don't have more desalination plants.

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dsmith422 t1_isxudz7 wrote

That making water for people to use isn't the issue. Its water for farming that is the issue. Desalination to create water for traditional farming is a money losing proposition.

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kittenTakeover t1_isy15qy wrote

Are you saying that the 200 gallons per day per person doesn't include water used in product consumption?

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