Desalination Plant Concentrate Disposal and Environmental Concerns

[DiveInFlorida]

Since this board goes around the world, I thought I'd ask some question on Desalination Plant Concentrate Disposal and Environmental Concerns.

I am involved in a new Desalination Plant project here in Florida that is currently in the planning stage. I would like to know if any other divers here have had any first hand experience and real observations with concentrate disposal in the ocean? I have personally done a little research with salinity changes in inlets, etc. but nothing with real concentrates from desal plants.

Thanks

 

[smellzlikefish]

I don't have any experience from the natural environments with desalinization plants, but I do work in an aquarium and have seen specimens of everything from snails to fish die of high salinity. Sometimes it doesn't even take that much of an increase. I recently was consulting with a guy who lost a significant number of his experimental conus snails to an increase in salinity. If paired with an increase in temp (depending on the method of desalinization) I imagine this effect could be multiplied. A classic case is coral bleaching in high temperatures. A rule of thumb for aquariums is you can often go under the natural 35 ppt of sea water, but increasing it beyond 35 ppt can start getting you into trouble. Also, organisms adapt their physiology to a quicker drop in salinity than they would to an increase. In other words, you might be able to get away with going from 35 ppt to 25 ppt in an hour, but to go from 25 to 35 safely it might take you three. I imagine your reading has told you similar things. For a little more info, I love the paper by Grigg and Dollar, 1990, Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbance of Coral Reefs.