Considering desalination plants: Sooner rather than later
Monday, 22 November 2010
Sea water can be made into freshwater. The process is called desalination. It is being used more and more around the world to provide people with needed freshwater.
A method to desalinate seawater is the “reverse osmosis” method. Right now, the cost of desalination has kept it from being used more often, as it can cost over $1,000 per acre-foot to desalinate seawater as compared to about $200 per acre-foot for water from normal supply sources. But desalinaation technology is improving and costs are falling, though, and Tampa Bay, Florida, USA is currently desalinating water at a cost of only $650 per acre foot. As both the demand for fresh water and technology increases, we can expect to see more desalination occurring round the world.
Time is ripe also to start considering the establishment of desalination plants in Bangladesh as our rivers are experiencing leaner and more polluted flows and it is proving to be too dangerous to encourage free-style lifting of underground water, because of the land subsidence that the same appears to be causing amid the growing threat of earthquakes.
Sooner rather than later Bangladesh has to look to the ocean to get large scale supply of water after desalination. The faster works start in this direction, the better for the water security of the country even in the short term.
Amina Mohsin
Dhaka University
A method to desalinate seawater is the “reverse osmosis” method. Right now, the cost of desalination has kept it from being used more often, as it can cost over $1,000 per acre-foot to desalinate seawater as compared to about $200 per acre-foot for water from normal supply sources. But desalinaation technology is improving and costs are falling, though, and Tampa Bay, Florida, USA is currently desalinating water at a cost of only $650 per acre foot. As both the demand for fresh water and technology increases, we can expect to see more desalination occurring round the world.
Time is ripe also to start considering the establishment of desalination plants in Bangladesh as our rivers are experiencing leaner and more polluted flows and it is proving to be too dangerous to encourage free-style lifting of underground water, because of the land subsidence that the same appears to be causing amid the growing threat of earthquakes.
Sooner rather than later Bangladesh has to look to the ocean to get large scale supply of water after desalination. The faster works start in this direction, the better for the water security of the country even in the short term.
Amina Mohsin
Dhaka University