‘Reservoir of Drought’

We are well on our way to a long-term solution to our chronic water shortages. Southern California, and indeed the West, does not really have a water shortage. Rather, we have a shortage of cheap water. A big difference! All of the easier to tap sources (i.e., rivers and streams) have already been tapped. What we are left with is more expensive sources, i.e., seawater desalination.

However, now that water prices are rising, and approaching “real cost,” alternative methods of providing water supplies are becoming feasible, and will see widespread use. The technology for providing, and guaranteeing, virtually unlimited supplies of water has been available for decades. The inhibiting factor has been economics. With water prices rising, the door barring a long-term solution is now ajar.

NEIL D. BERLANT

Los Angeles