139 



would be accelerated by an expanded effort, 

 the need for desalted water is not so critical 

 as to require a crash program. 



The Commission concludes that a balanced 

 desalination program should direct addi- 

 tional attention to three key areas: 



• Techniques for meeting large-scale re- 

 gional water needs, especially those of 

 metropolitan coastal populations 



• More reliable and efficient smaller plants 

 for isolated shorefront sites and islands 

 and for inland communities which must 

 depend upon brackish or polluted water 

 sources 



• Systems for industrial and municipal re- 

 use of waste water. 



The Commission recommends that the 

 Department of the Interior continue an 

 aggressive and diversified desalination re- 

 search and development program with 

 increased emphasis on very large-scale 

 applications, smaller plants for such pur- 

 poses as tapping brackish water supplies 

 for inland communities, and systems per- 

 mitting re-use of waste water. 



Although desalination is the most signifi- 

 cant way to produce fresh water from the sea, 

 there are other possibilities. In particular, 

 the potential of geological formations i)ro- 

 ducing fresh water in .strata underlying 

 coastal waters needs further investigation. 

 Conceivably, such sources of fresh water 

 could supplement local water supplies con- 

 tinuously in verj' dry areas at relatively low 

 capital costs. 



Pre-lnvestment Surveys 



A Government-supported program is nec- 

 essary to delineate the gross geological con- 

 figuration of the continental shelves and 

 slopes adjacent to the United States and to 

 identify in general terms their resource 



potential and areas of greatest commercial 

 promise. This is of particular importance to 

 the mining industry, but it also would be 

 lielpful to the jjetroleum industry as oil and 

 gas exploration and exploitation proceed 

 into deeper waters and remote areas where 

 even general geological characteristics re- 

 main unknown. In such cases industry can- 

 not reasonably be expected to undertake the 

 necessai-y studies. 



Geological reconnaissance surveys would 

 be tremendously expensive for any individual 

 firm to undertake, and it could hope to 

 realize only a small fraction of the total 

 benefit from this type of exploratory invest- 

 ment. Furthermore, the survey costs will be 

 much lower if made in the course of a broad, 

 systematic. Government-sponsored mapping 

 and coring program than if made by in- 

 dividual firms. 



The reconnaissance surveys will uncover 

 a variety of new industrial ojiportunities 

 and provide the foundation for more de- 

 tailed investigation and commerical evalua- 

 tion of the marine resources by industry. 



The Federal Government conducts similar 

 geological surveys on land. As on land, the 

 recommended geological surveys should be 

 preceded by preparing general purpose maps 

 of topography and geophysical characteris- 

 tics. Specific recommendations for conduct- 

 ing such bathy metric and geophysical sur- 

 veys, which also will serve needs other than 

 those of the nonliving resource industries, 

 are discussed in Chapter 6. 



The Department of the Interior has pro- 

 posed a marine geological survey involving 

 extensive dredging, coring, heat probes, ex- 

 amination of outcrops, and shallow and deep 

 core drilling into tlie seal)ottom. The Com- 

 mission endorses this program but urges that 

 it be coordinated closely with the marine geo- 

 I)hysical surveys planned by the Environ- 

 mental Science Services Administration and 



