![[We need] a farsighted program for meeting urgent water needs by converting saltwater to fresh water. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1951](img/blocks/about desal.jpg)
Seawater desalination is an advanced treatment process that removes dissolved salts and minerals from seawater to produce a high-quality drinking water. Seawater desalination is a drought-proof alternative water supply that can be produced in an environmentally sound manner.
About 97 percent of the earth’s water is too salty to drink, but it can be tapped for drinking water purposes through desalination technology. Desalinated water can be an important component of a diversified, reliable water supply system.
Population growth, climate change, environmental protection and competition for fresh water supplies are all reasons for the increased use of desalination across the globe. Brackish water and seawater desalination plants operating worldwide in municipal, military and industrial applications produce a combined daily capacity of more than 18 billion gallons (source: 2009-2010 International Desalination Association Yearbook). Large-scale seawater desalination plants are currently operating in Spain, Trinidad, Israel, Singapore, Chile, Australia, China and Saudi Arabia.
Florida is home to the United States’ first large-scale seawater desalination facility, Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant near Apollo Beach. This plant can produce up to 25 million gallons per day. There are other desalination plants being built in California and Texas.
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