DEMINERALIZATION OF SALINE WATERS 263 
Generalization of any world problem is grossly misleading and 
unreliable. This is certainly true of the separation of fresh water 
from saline supplies. The physical, sociological, economic, and 
political status of peoples and the meteorological and geograph- 
ical environments in widely separated regions are so varied that 
there can be no single solution to the problem. These and other 
factors must be considered before any decision is reached as to 
the desalting process most suitable in a particular area. 
What Cost Saline Water Conversion? 
The crux of realistic accomplishment in demineralization of 
saline water anywhere rests wholly on permissible cost. 
Everett W. Howe (6) has wisely pointed out, however, that “the 
cost is never too high when human life itself is at stake.” Deter- 
mination of the cost of desalted water involves a careful survey 
of the possibilities of selective water use. Comprehensive statis- 
tical data are needed for appraisal of the economic practicability 
of partial or total use of desalted water for miscellaneous regional 
needs. 
The permissible cost of separating fresh water from saline 
supplies anywhere depends on the urgency of the existing needs, 
whether they be for irrigation, industrial, municipal, or other 
uses. Local conditions must govern the acceptable cost of using 
all types of saline supply. Comparison of treatment cost in 
different areas is misleading unless allowance is made for local 
influences. In areas where no fresh water is available, the accept- 
able cost of demineralization bears little relation to that of areas 
having relatively abundant natural fresh water supplies. 
In semi-arid areas, selection of water supply rests upon the 
comparative costs of converted water and fresh water imported 
from remote sources. 
In regions where saline water only is available and all fresh 
water must be obtained by importation or conversion, strict 
conservation of all fresh water used must be enforced. Scarcity of 
fresh water promotes greater tolerance of lower quality in water 
for many uses which in non-arid areas would be considered more 
demanding. The economics of any particular situation will always 
