The biggest cost in desalination is energy, and this company says its approach uses at least 30% less of it.
The California communities of Santa Monica and Avalon are conserving water but also using desalination to increase the supply.
A new desalination plant supplies 10 percent of arid San Diego's water.
A desalination plant built in the 90's mothballed when El Nino rains ended a drought.
An effort to build the Western Hemisphere's largest seawater desalination plant faces a crucial test today, as San Diego's regional water agency votes on whether to buy all the water the plant would make.
