On: California is not in drought

[throwaway197812]

Better membranes and renewable-powered desalination plants are not going to do anything about the waste problem. Has there been any progress on that?

[WarOnPrivacy → throwaway197812]

Brine disposal has always been my concern. I haven't come across anything promising but I'm well out of the loop.

[lumost → WarOnPrivacy]

wouldn't releasing brine into the ocean be viable with a suitable dispersal mechanism? Or are there additional chemicals released from the plant?

[d110af5ccf → lumost]

Yes. We already do this for all sorts of things, including sewage. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_outfall)

[zo1 → throwaway197812]

Can't we just have giant "salt plains" where we allow the brine to evaporate and we just collect the remaining salt/minerals?

Maybe I'm crazy or not informed enough, but I always thought this water-desalination thing was a solved problem. Then I got confused when they talked about how there is "brine waste" and it's a huge ecological problem. Why do they stop short of full evaporation of the brine?