Desalination not answer to country's water woes

THE EDITOR: The Desalination Plant is down again. This means a deficiency of 40 million gallons of water a day to WASA.

The plant’s shutdowns are always shrouded in mystery. For what reason and for how long will it be down this time? All we hear is conserve, conserve, conserve.

TT does not need a desal plant because of our high rainfall.

TT, check for yourself and see how many times and for what durations Desalcott has been down this year. It is making WASA look good.

Desalination is not the answer to TT’s water woes. Seawater desalination is the most expensive source of fresh water. This process requires a considerable amount of energy.

These plants are very expensive to operate and maintain, with energy cost the largest single expense.

Costs of desalination are not just monetary but environmental as well. Baby fish, plankton and small ocean creatures are killed when sucked into desal plants and this upsets the food chain.

The separated concentrated brine when pumped back into the ocean harms local aquatic life. Note well, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea.

Reducing these impacts is possible but it adds to the costs.

Excessive costs, energy consumption, the threat to fisheries and nature should make a country think ten times about desalination as a solution to water shortage.

Conservation and recycling are less expensive and less risky to building desal plants.

The nominees for the least efficient plant in 2018 are Desalcott, Desalcott and Desalcott. Care to hazard a guess which the winner is?

AV RAMPERSAD, Princes Town