With the demand on the water supply continuing to increase, West Basin Municipal Water District is proactively researching new water supplies. West Basin sees ocean-water desalination as an economically viable source of future water supply.

The benefit of desalination is that it is virtually immune to dry weather periods and potential disputes over water rights associated with supplies that are imported from other areas.

The Process
The process involves removing salt, minerals and impurities from ocean water with the latest technologies - microfiltration and reverse osmosis.

The ocean water first passes through microfiltration, which consists of thousands of strands with pores that are 5,000 times smaller than a pinhole. The water then passes through reverse osmosis, which consists of membranes with pores that are 5 million times smaller than a pinhole.

U.S. Desalination Coalition
In 2003, West Basin collaborated with four other large water agencies to bring nationwide attention to desalination efforts with the formation of the United States Desalination Coalition.

Comprised of West Basin, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Municipal Water District of Orange County, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and San Diego County Water Authority, the Coalition works cooperatively to encourage federal support and funding for ocean water and brackish water desalination projects across the nation.

As a collective voice, the Coalition seeks to inform and promote desalination as a safe and practical solution to diversifying the national drinking water supplies to meet current and future demands.

Current Membership:

• American Water – Western Region
• Honolulu City & County Water Supply
• Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
• Jacksonville Electric Authority
• Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
• Municipal Water District of Orange County
• San Diego County Water Authority
• South Florida Water Management District
• Southwest Florida Water Management District
• St. John’s River Water Management District
• Tampa Bay Water
• Texas Water Conservation Association
• West Basin Municipal Water District