TSC and Sandia Labs collaborate on Desalination Roadmap
Access to freshwater is an increasingly critical national and international issue as demand has outstripped supply in many regions of the world, including parts of the United States. Degradation of water supplies resulting from population growth, pollution, and lack of coordinated management often compounds this pervasive water availability issue. To maintain economic development, improve standards of living and health, and minimize future regional and international conflicts, our nation will need to develop sustainable supplies of high-quality water for drinking and other uses. This requires the development of innovative and cost-effective methods to improve water management, water use and reuse, as well as novel technologies that can "create" freshwater from non-traditional sources.
In 2001, Congress directed Reclamation to partner with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to develop a desalination technology research plan for the United States. Shortly thereafter, Reclamation and SNL formed a multi-disciplinary committee of representatives from academia and the public, private, and non-profit sectors. The result of this collaborative effort, The Desalination and Water Purification Technology Roadmap: A Report of the Executive Committee (Roadmap), was published in January 2003 and is now available at www.usbr.gov/water/desal.html . The Roadmap presents a summary of the water supply challenges facing our nation through 2020, and suggests areas of R&D that may lead to technological solutions to these challenges. The Roadmap may be used as a planning tool to facilitate science and technology investment decisions or as a management tool to help coordinate research efforts. TSC's Water Treatment Engineering and Research Group (86-68230), led by Kevin Price, has spearheaded Reclamation's efforts in the increasingly important desalination arena.
Reclamation Commissioner John Keys recently said, "cost reduction is the single most important factor necessary to increase the implementation of desalination, which will in turn reduce pressure on our limited fresh water supplies. As we enter the fourth year of a drought in many western states, it is imperative that we develop new technologies to increase our domestic water supply, this innovative report is a step in the right direction."
Concurrent with the release of the Roadmap, Reclamation contracted with the National Research Council's (NRC) Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) to evaluate the report. The NRC was organized by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1916. The NAS is a private, non-profit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. The NAS was chartered by Congress in 1863, and has a mandate that requires it to advise the Federal government on scientific and technical matters. The WSTB will provide an unbiased review of the Roadmap in hopes of validating the report's science and technology investment decisions and the recommended research, development, and demonstration projects.
The evaluation process began on January 1, 2003, and will be completed by December 31, 2003. There will be two principal products of the evaluation: (1) a brief interim letter report providing and initial assessment including its potential use in helping to set Federal investment priorities, and (2) a final report addressing all six evaluation items, briefings, and other dissemination activities.
To complement the overall evaluation process, a public meeting will be held on May 13, 2003, at the Table Mountain Inn in Golden, Colorado. Public attendance and participation in the review process are welcome and encouraged. If you cannot attend the public meeting, your comments on the Roadmap are encouraged and may be submitted to www.usbr.gov/water/feedback/feedback.html .
The WSTB evaluation and recommendations will ensure that
the Roadmap is comprehensive and focused. And regular updates will ensure
that it remains current and relevant.