The Secretary went on to say: 
The new program that has been devised to advance 
desalting technology will change the character of 
the program by placing greater emphasis on 
engineering problems and the development of 
hardware for prototype plants ranging up to SO 
million gallons per day. 
The increase in water use in the United States 
has been phenomenal. At the turn of the century, 
40 billion gallons per day (gpd) were used. By 
1920 use had doubled; it doubled again by 1944 
and still again by 1965. The use of water now is 
estimated at 375 billion gpd. It has been predicted 
that by the year 2000 our population will double, 
and within another 35 to 40 years it will double 
again, but the problems involved in maintaining an 
adequate supply of water are compounded by the 
fact that per capita demand is constantly 
increasing. 
Thomas K. Sherwood, Professor of Chemical 
Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, testified in 1965 that:?! 
The most significant water statistic is the rate of 
“consumptive” use of water. This refers to water 
withdrawn from streams, lakes, and aquifers, used 
once, and then lost by evaporation or in other 
ways so as not to be available for reuse. The 
consumptive use of water within the continental 
United States is not known accurately, but is 
evidently between 10 and 20 per cent of the total 
fresh water which might sometime be obtained 
from natural sources by present technology. Not 
only are the demands increasing steadily, but 
water supplies vary enormously with time and 
place, so to me this is a frightening figure. I am 
further convinced that desalination is one of the 
several practical approaches to the problem. Two- 
thirds of the population lives in the 25 States 
which border on the oceans, and many of the 
other 25 states have large supplies of brackish 
water. 
With respect to the importance of water, Mr. 
Frank Di Luzio, former Assistant Secretary of 
Interior, has stated that:3? 
31 Senate Hearings, May 1965, op. cit., p. 212. 
32 Thid., p. 144. 
VI-198 
It is not always practical to attempt to assign a 
reasonable market value to water. One thing is 
absolutely clear—there is no water as expensive as 
no water... The cost of water itself becomes less 
important when considered in the light of the 
economic impact of water rationing. Many indus- 
trial plants require great volumes of water for 
processing, and water use restrictions can cause 
production cutbacks which diminish profits and 
paychecks. But even more important than eco- 
nomic consideration is the relationship of water 
supply to human needs, especially the detrimental 
effects on health that can result from water 
shortages. Inadequate supplies of fresh water serve 
to compound pollution control problems. Without 
sufficient water for dilution of the effluents we 
pour into our rivers and streams, they can become 
so choked with pollutants as to lose their natural 
ability to regenerate the water to a usable condi- 
tion. To alleviate this adverse situation, we suggest 
that it is now time for saline water conversion 
plants to be considered as a practical supplemental 
source of fresh water supply. 
A. History and Trends 
1. Past Activities 
For many years desalination equipment was of 
major interest only to the maritime industry. 
For this use there were two principal criteria: 
reliability of operation and the space required for 
the equipment. Cost of conversion was a minor 
consideration. 
In 1952, the Congress, through the Saline Water 
Act of 1952 and by subsequent legislative amend- 
ments, authorized the Secretary of the Interior 
through the Office of Saline Water to conduct a 
research and development program for new or 
improved low-cost desalination processes. Primary 
objective was to lower the cost of desalted water 
so that desalination will be a feasible alternate 
source of fresh water to meet future needs. 
Generally, the U.S. Government program has been 
conducted by supporting research and develop- 
ment grants and awarding contracts to individuals, 
universities, private research organizations, indus- 
trial firms, and other government agencies. 
Desalting processes were improved as they 
advanced through laboratory and pilot plant stages 
to prototype and operation. In 1958, Congress 
