Interest in desalination is skyrocketing, which is stoking the emergence of unconventional approaches.WaterFx
One example is the technology from San Francisco-based WaterFX, which is using solar panels to remove the salt from drainage water from farms in California's Central Valley. The company's 6,500-square-foot test facility in Firebaugh can produce up to 8 gallons per minute of pure water from the saline discharge.
The idea is for farmers to reduce the draw on municipal water facilities. The trick will be to convince farmers to take a change on this supply, said Aaron Mandell, chairman and founder of WaterFX.
"We are dealing with an agricultural industry that for hundreds of years has gotten their technology in a certain way," he said. "Our hurdle is to get people to accept a new approach, new notions of desalination.