Membrane Tech Important Piece of Water Future
The November edition of Journal AWWA (American Water Works Association) features a San Diego County Water Authority employee’s thoughts on a larger discussion about what the world of water could look like in 2050. In a piece titled “Addressing the Global Water Crisis With Membrane Technology”, Water Authority Principal Engineer Silvana Ghiu and her co-authors expanded on the vital importance of membrane technology for a hotter and dryer planet.
“The United Nations’ World Water Development Report 2023: Partnerships and Cooperation for Water estimates that the urban population facing water scarcity will increase from 933 million in 2016 to between 1.7 and 2.4 billion by 2050, representing one-third to one-half of the global urban population,” the article’s authors highlighted.
What can be done to fight against this global emergency?
The November edition of Journal AWWA
“After decades of advancements and innovation, membrane technology has evolved into an essential tool that can harness unconventional water sources to provide safe, sustainable drinking water.”
San Diego County residents don’t have to go far to see this technology in action. In fact, it’s being used right here in Carlsbad.
“In California, drought is intrinsic to the natural climate, and the need for local, reliable water supplies led to the 2015 construction of the Claude ‘Bud’ Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, with a capacity of 50 mgd (million gallons per day).”
From desalination along the coast to using membrane technology to treat brackish water in the interior, along with future advancements that could create even more opportunities for reliability, this technology is clearly here to stay.
“Membrane technology could be present in some capacity in nearly every new water plant built by the middle of this century,” writes Ghiu and her co-authors. In San Diego that future is already here as the Water Authority continues to build a reliable regional water supply for a changing climate. To read more, click here.
