Mike wrote on Jul 28, 2006 7:03 AM:The desalination plant is just like the trash-to-energy plant that the County wasted $250 million on over a decade ago. It seems like a clever idea at a conceptual level but doesn't work when reviewed as an engineering or economic proposition.

to mike wrote on Jul 28, 2006 8:59 AM:You are a fool. Desalinazation not only works but works damn well. I toured a plant once that was capable of making 3 million gallons of fresh water a day, that was 13 years ago. The technology is there but californians are too damn stupid and short sighted to make use of it. People like you with no concept of what you are talking about need to keep your mouth shut.

San Marcos Resident wrote on Jul 28, 2006 10:21 AM:The reality of the population growth the politicians, planners, and developers sold us on is slapping us in the face. Time to stop growth, require water-conseving measures, and if necessary, raise the price of water to enourage conservation. Sorry to say, folks, to all of you who supported this rampant growth, toilet-to-tap is in our future. Those of us who find that disgusting can buy bottled water. The rest of us will be drinking and filling our pools with it. "Smart growth"? That's just a ruse to keep the money rolling in to a select few, and the rest of us paying the price.

Hank wrote on Jul 28, 2006 1:02 PM:Hey San Marcos...it's cool to stop growth since you're here, right? Well, that won't happen. It may be awhile before recycled water makes it into the drinking water system, but even if/when it does, the bottled water producers will use it too! I think desal is the wave of the future, and it will definitely cost more.

To Mike wrote on Jul 28, 2006 5:39 PM:I agree with the second guy who called you a fool. Desalination plants have been around for many years working very successfully. You can only stop growth if you shrink the population by not having kids and make people die at an earlier age. The reality is that growth will always be with us. Our water districts have been fighting for years to make sure we get water from the North and from the Colorado river. Someday that might trickle to a stop and then what?

CC wrote on Jul 28, 2006 9:28 PM:I was a big supporter of desalinazation until I read an article that said we have dead zones all around the current desal plants that are located on our coast. Another problem is due to our trade agreements which will allow others to own our water even if we don't want that. You can stop growth and US citizens have done it with much sacrifice. We are currently at zero population growth. All population growth is currently coming from immigration. If the Senate immigration bill passes, we could easily be looking at double the population in California in just 40 years. This will place huge demands on our infrastructure. We currently allow 1 million legal immigrants per year. That allows for a modest amount of growth. But, the Senate bill will result in an absolute explosion in our population. We have sacrificed so that there will be enough water, roads, energy, wildlands, jobs, etc. to go around. But, apparently this sacrifice was to no purpose. US population is currently 300 million. It is estimated that the Senate bill will result in 100 million new legal immigrants over the next 20 years. In 40 years, one could extrapolate the numbers to 200 million more immigrants. Plus, immigrants have a higher birth rate than US citizens. Add to this the huge growth in illegals that will expect future amnesty. Add to this the general migration of the US population to the coasts, and you've got a huge population explosion in California. We better get busy building more roads.

MrP wrote on Jul 30, 2006 1:40 PM:I agree mostly with CC's comments. Not just with water supplies but indeed with all community needs (roads, education, health care, energy, gas, etc.) we are treating the symptoms and not the problem. The problem is overpopulation. We have simply outgrown the ability to meet reasonable needs. Frankly, conservation efforts are counterproductive. The more we save, the more is available to fuel growth. The savers are the ones that suffer through more congestion and demand for reduced services and higher prices for their efforts. Business and industry must figure out ways to prosper without growth. Developers, with the government at all levels as its ally, are choking us . . . snuffing out the Califiornia Dream. We could start by modifying our current taxation system which currently rewards large families through deductions. We need to look at a "China" model that would reward small families and not the large ones. Then there are those religions who promote large families . . . but don't get me started on that one.