Critical Review
of Desalination Concentrate Disposal
to Surface Water

      In collaboration with the St. John River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), literature about desalination treatment for the preparation of potable water around the world, about how people deal with their by-product and about what studies have been undertaken in order to gain a better understanding of the consequences of concentrate disposal in coastal ecosystems was gathered.

Based upon the review and a synthesis of this material, the following questions will be addressed:

- How extensive is the use of desalination technology in coastal environments:
- Along the Indian River Lagoon?
- In Florida?
- In the USA?
- In the World?
- What is the character and quantity of by-product being generated by desalination techniques?
- What regulations address disposal of those wastes?
- What concerns are expressed about desalination concentrate?
- What data exist which address observed or potential impact of desalination concentrate in estuaries and coastal waters?
- Is additional data needed to assess the present and possible future impact of desalination wastes on estuaries and coastal waters?
- Finally, what additional questions need to be addressed regarding desalination concentrate?
 

1. Background

1.1 What is Reverse Osmosis?
1.2  Application of Membrane Technology in Drinking Water Treatment
    1.2.1 Descriptions of Desalination Processes (Pontius, 1996)
    1.2.2 Pre- and Post-Treatment to the Desalination Processes
1.3  Concentrate Disposal
    1.3.1 What is the problem?
    1.3.2 What to do with the concentrate?

2. Melbourne and the Indian River Lagoon 


2.1 Melbourne Reverse Osmosis Facility (Nantz et al, 1997).
    2.1.1 The Melbourne RO Plant
    2.1.2 Operating the Plant
    2.1.3 Concentrate Disposal
2.2 The Indian River Lagoon Area.

3. Florida


3.1 Monitoring
    3.1.1 Water Quality.
    3.1.2 Toxicity.
3.2 Proposed Options for Concentrate Disposal
    3.2.1 Surface Discharge
    3.2.2 Blending with Domestic Wastewater and POTW
    3.2.3 Deep Well Injection
    3.2.4 Land Application and Evaporation Pond

4. The World


4.1 The USA
4.2  The World
    4.2.1 Middle East
    4.2.2 Caribbean Islands

5.  Conclusions


5.1  Summary
5.2  Recommendations
5.2.1 Environmental impacts
5.2.2 Communication
5.2.3 Reuse water policies
5.2.4 NPDES Monitoring
5.2.5 Dilution
5.2.6 Engineering solutions to dilution
5.2.7 Legal approach.
5.2.8 Research deep well injection
5.2.9  Use of hybrid-solution
5.2.10 Develop bioassays and research mechanisms of toxicity
5.2.11 Seawater desalination and ocean discharge.
 

References.
 
 
 

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