Desalination Systems and Their Environmental Impacts

Developed technologies for the desalination of seawater and brackish groundwater supplies have been demonstrated to be technically feasible, economically viable, and reliable; meanwhile, emerging technologies are still in the pilot or small-scale stages. The total installed capacity of desalination plants in the United States has expanded from around 302 million gallons per day (MGD) in 2009 to about 479 MGD in 2022. Florida leads the nation in desalination capacity, having more than 130 desalination plants. Environmental issues related to desalination are a significant factor in designing and implementing desalination technologies. Their projects require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study to determine how the project can affect the air, land, and marine environments by considering the impact on source water, impact from concentration, issues with desalinated water products, and impact from gas emissions. The EIA also proposes measures to mitigate environmental impacts.