# San Diego wins approval for nation's largest desalinization plant

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-diego-wins-approval-for-nations-largest-desalinization-plant/459191>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 7, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-diego-wins-approval-for-nations-largest-desalinization-plant/459191 "2008-08-07T18:09:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-diego-wins-approval-for-nations-largest-desalinization-plant/459191/1 "2008-08-07T18:09:46Z")

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> [@](#):
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> The $300 million plant envisioned by Poseidon Resources Inc. of Stamford, Conn., would produce 50 million gallons of drinking water each day, enough to supply 112,000 households.

The plant will use the reverse osmosis method. Interestingly, the decision by the California Coastal Commission opens up the possibility of constructing some 20 other plants on the California coast.

From the [Sand Diego Union-Tribune.](http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080806-2108-bn06desal.html)

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**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-diego-wins-approval-for-nations-largest-desalinization-plant/459191/2 "2008-08-07T18:26:04Z")

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Interesting, and a good idea, but am I right in reading between the lines that the average household uses about 446 gallons of water a day? That seems awfully high even for a family of 4-6 people.

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**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-diego-wins-approval-for-nations-largest-desalinization-plant/459191/3 "2008-08-07T18:37:30Z")

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That includes water for washing machines, dishwashers etc.

My water bill from April says that our average water usage is 8,692 gallons per month. That’s 290 gallons per day, for a 4-person household. Perhaps San Diegoans use more than I do. 😉

Water use statistics also vary by country and region. Some of these can be looked up on sites such as the US EPA and the American Water Works Association.