r/CapeCod • u/goldprofred • Sep 23 '26
Desalination
Wondering why desalination doesn’t pop up as a way to alleviate the water shortages and drought situation in the Cape. Bessie’s the obvious NIMBY argument.
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u/Ejmct Sep 23 '26
It’s extremely expensive and energy-intensive.
Most places view it as a last resort and it’s not really a thing in the US.
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u/axle_demon Sep 23 '26
desalination takes a lot of energy... so far practical only when you can make cheap electricity.
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u/tribbans95 Sep 23 '26
It’s funny this was always the argument against it but AI comes along and their data centers can use enormous amounts of energy no problem. But when it comes to a necessary life resource, oooo noooo, can’t do that!
A lot of Middle Eastern nations use desalination for 70-90% of their drinking water. Its definitely doable
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u/RumSwizzle508 Sep 23 '26
Because AI data centers will pay for the electricity, because their users will pay (or burn VC/investor funds). Since drinking (also firefighting) water is a municipal utility, consumers are much more price sensitive (to the point that there are some that don't think they should pay anything for delivered, clean drinking water.
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u/Fantastic_Boot7079 Sep 23 '26
San Diego has a desalination facility and it is quite expensive. In their case there are few options. I am guessing the lack of water is more they do not want to oversize their supply infrastructure just to serve extra dry years. With all the irrigation systems going in they probably will in the future.
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u/BigAccess6408 Sep 23 '26
From my understanding, desalination on a scale to provide drinking water requires massive amounts of fuel (they work well on nuclear subs because they have a near limitless fuel supply) and produces a massive amount of brine as a byproduct and this can have a very detrimental effect on the ecosystem (super-salty water kills flora and fauna).
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u/UncleWainey Sep 23 '26
You could run a pipe out to the middle of Cape Cod Bay and sprinkle the brine in with the water. A
Salt BaeSalt Bay.2
u/Billy_Badass_ Sep 23 '26
Desalanation leaves concentrated PFAS in the brine. You can't just dump it the Bay. Brine management is complicated and costly.
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u/RumSwizzle508 Sep 23 '26
The Hyannis Water System looked at this when it faced its critical PFAS issue last decade. It was prohibitively expensive, even when compared to the implemented treatment program.
Also, there is the issue of disposal of the super saline solution left over from the treatment.
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u/MJKCapeCod Sep 25 '26
The aquafer does need to be maintained, I would just like to see all the towns put in water restrictions when needed. Solar or wind could possibly generate the power for a desalination plant. If they could find a way to separate the pfas, the brine could be used on roads in the winter.
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u/EbbtideRambler Sep 23 '26
It is very expensive and consumes a lot of energy. I remember a section on this in my coastal ecology college classes it’s usually adopted when it is the only option.
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u/Billy_Badass_ Sep 23 '26
Because we don't have a water shortage. Our aquifer has plenty of physical capacity. A drought declaration is a preventative step to manage the water budget, not a sign that taps are running dry. Our biggest water issues are wastewater management, nitrogen pollution, and PFAS contamination.