The salty leftovers are pumped back into the sea where it came from. But problems are arising. For one thing, the desalinated water lacks key trace minerals, which is having a noticeable effect on the health of both people and agricultural products. Magnesium is a particular problem. And then there's the dumping of the salty sludge back into the ocean. It has a serious detrimental effect on sea life. And of course the desalination plants use a huge amount of energy. Here's a good article from
Haaretz about growing concerns. At least one plant has been shut down due to its effect on the local environment.
“Here’s a good article from Haaretz about growing concerns. At least one plant has been shut down due to its effect on the local environment.”
From what I gather Haaretz is a fairly liberal and greenish paper, so they are bound to play up “environmental concerns”.
I’m curious though, now that they’ve shut down one of the desal plant, how are going to make up for that lost source of water in a country whose population is steadily growing?