[Edited: Changed: "and then filter out the salt with gravity"]

Since water is pumped to city reservoirs above sea level, (many times: WAY above sea level), why not simply pump seawater.

Once you have it high up, distill it with a solar facility.

Sell the salt, and drink the water, or add the freshwater to the dwindling natural aquifer.
-- pashute, Dec 10 2010

apart from not really wanting salt inland, how are you going to "filter out the salt with gravity" ?
-- FlyingToaster, Dec 10 2010


By using the pressure differential generated by a 1/2 mile column of water to drive reverse osmosis, silly.
-- GutPunchLullabies, Dec 10 2010


I thought that a filter membrane with air on the other side, would not be "reverse osmosis". It seems the claim is that it is. So I'm editing this idea to remove that part.
-- pashute, Dec 12 2010


Well now thats just silly. Why pump all that saline uphill instead of distilling it at the source? You are just doing the work twice.
-- GutPunchLullabies, Dec 15 2010


because pumping the saltwater is not twice the work of pumping freshwater, but rather 1.000000000000001 more work. And its easier to find locations inland for doing the work, especially if the reservoir is already high up (usually above the cities or at close height).

Last but not least, using dewVaporation technology and the likes of it, makes no difference where you do it, so you are not doubling the work, only doing it once. And probably with a solar solution, its probably easier to get the water to evaporate in daytime (hotter temperatures and drier air) and then to cool at nighttime (colder temperatures at night) when your further from the sea.

BTW [toaster] the owner of the salt company in my country is one the three richest people here. And all because his grandfather was first to think of of it. Just to show that there definitely is a request for salt inland...
-- pashute, Dec 22 2010



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