Written by: Stephen Frank
The answer to California’s drought may lie in desalination plants. Desalination (desal) is a process that removes the mineral components found in water, such as salt, and makes it suitable for drinking or irrigation use. This process is responsible for providing dry countries such as Israel with water.
Droughts plague California year by year. Many cities are looking for viable solutions to remedy their drought problem. Their solutions have been unsuccessful for many cities, mainly due to Democrats’ lack of planning and a misallocation of resources. However, Antioch believes that desal is their golden goose egg to solve the water crisis in their city.
The city prides itself on its motto: “Opportunity Lives Here.” Since the Gold Rush, many industries have come and gone. However, the city’s true identity is linked to the San Joaquin River. The river, the state’s second-largest and one of the most heavily dammed in the West, is the primary water source for over 110,000 Antioch residents.
But for over 50 years, the lower stages of the river have been contaminated with salt caused by state and federal water projects, increased agricultural runoff, drought, and sea-level rise. The mounting challenges have rendered the city’s claim useless for large stretches of the year, especially during California’s increasingly common droughts. Antioch is attempting to control its water destiny by building the delta’s first desalination plant to regain access to its most vital resource and prepare for climate change.
For years the Democrat majority of California has been waiting for a stroke of luck to solve our water crisis. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent, and billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted through various unsuccessful attempts to solve our state’s water problem. If Democrats are willing to spend money on viable infrastructure that has been proven to remedy drought-inflicted regions throughout the globe, then maybe we can finally see an end to our decades-old drought. In the end, we may have a deficit of water, but we indeed have a surplus of government.
Photo from: Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group
