Why Desalination Doesn't Work (Yet)

They say the technology will take 10 years to develop. That's er...rather long.

How expensive to pump water into an inland reservoir, and get plants like mangroves to filter out the salt?

clipped from www.livescience.com "Until recently, seawater desalination was a very expensive water source solution," said Gary Crisp, an engineer for the Water Corporation of Western Australia. But the first actual practice of desalination involved collecting the freshwater steam from boiling saltwater. Around 200 A.D., sailors began desalinating seawater with simple boilers on their ships. But the price difference will undoubtedly narrow, especially in regions that could experience more intense droughts owing to climate change. Water use has been growing twice as fast as population growth, causing more and more communities to suffer water shortages. The demand for freshwater supplies will drive prices higher, making desalination increasingly attractive. "Lowering the energy required for desalination and the fouling propensity of membranes are the two biggest challenges facing desalination," Gray says. "We would hope to have something available within the next 10 years," Gray said.