Desalination is not a risk-free answer to the water crisis

DEAR Honourable Mayor P De Lille,

We are glad the City of Cape Town is making an expedient effort to mitigate the current water crisis by looking at alternative water solutions.

The City of Cape Town has identified desalination as the current solution as global warming presents very dry weather patterns to this region in future.

When the City of Cape Town introduces desalination in the Western Cape, will the public be made aware of the potential risks or disadvantages of the process of eliminating salt from sea water and using it for domestic, commercial and retail use and human consumption? The City of Cape Town is promoting a green city yet desalination does not promote a green city.

Desalinated sea water is a potential cause of many health problems.

Scientists report that desalination presents the following potential risks:

Large amounts of hair-loss and a calcium build-up on the surface of the scalp, hindering or stinting new hair growth;

Ingestion of desalinated water can lead to electrolyte abnormalities marked by hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia and hypocalcemia, which are among the most common and recognisable features in cancer patients;

Marine biologists warn that widespread desalination could take a heavy toll on ocean biodiversity;

A team of researchers from the AN Sysin Institute of General and Public Hygiene and USSR Academy of Medical Sciences under the direction of Professor Sidorenko and Dr Rakhmanin, in a report published in 1980 as an internal working document, concluded that “not only does completely demineralised water (distillate) have unsatisfactory organoleptic properties, but it also has a definite adverse influence on the animal and human organism”;

Marine biologists warn that widespread desalination could take a heavy toll on ocean biodiversity, as such facilities’ intake pipes essentially vacuum up and inadvertently kill millions of plankton, fish eggs, fish larvae and other microbial organisms that constitute the base layer of the marine food chain; and

desalination can potentially make the operating of household appliances such as irons, washing machines and dishwashers defective and manufacturers could void the product warranty of such appliances.

Is the intention of the City of Cape Town to create awareness among the citizens of the Western Cape, building owners, corporate retailers, hospitals and captains of industry so they can inform their customers and staff of the potential disadvantages of desalination in order for them to manage the challenges proactively?

Will the City of Cape Town prepare the vulnerable and poor that are unable to afford to buy bottles of clean drinking water and cannot afford specialised shampoos, conditioners and treatments that have been manufactured to combat the negative effects of desalination?

Kind regards Robert Green Greenpeace South Africa