Decision Support

Decision Support was one of the original focus areas of the Desalination Act of 1996. Several reports providing information and tools to support advanced water treatment decisions have been published. Broad areas of work are:

Technology Assessment– descriptions of advanced water treatment technology, how, where, when it can be used to what benefit
Facility surveys – Advanced water treatment facility surveys
Economics – Cost estimation tools, cost surveys, and energy analysis

Science and Technology Program Projects

ID	Title	Start	End	Contact	Reports
7060	Development of a Method for Evaluating Sequence of Water Use to Maximize Benefit of Treatment and Minimize Impact to the Environment	2006	2007	Michelle Chapman	Water Reuse Study for Big Bear, California (pdf)
3180	Treatment of Produced Water for Beneficial Use in the Western United States	2007	2010	Katherine Guerra	Presentation slides: Development of Produced Water Strategies Use of Ceramic Membranes for Produced Water Treatment
9361	Strategies for Treating Variable Source Water	2010		Michelle Chapman	Presentation slide

Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Reports

Technology Assessment
Opportunities, Research Needs, and Facility Surveys
Cogeneration (no reports)
Cost Estimation & Economics

Report Title	Author	Date	Report #
Technology Assessment
The Desalting and Water Treatment Membrane Manual: A Guide to Membranes for Municipal Water Treatment	Bureau of Reclamation	Sep-93	1
Preliminary Research Study for the Construction of a Pilot Cogeneration Desalination Plant in Southern California	Supersystems, Inc.	May-95	7
The Desalting and Water Treatment Membrane Manual, A Guide to Membranes for Municipal Water Treatment, 2nd Edition	Bureau of Reclamation	May-98	29
Water Treatment Primer for Communities in Need	Bureau of Reclamation	Updated 2010	68
Desalting Handbook for Planners	RosTek Assoc., Inc., DSS Consulting, Inc., & Aqua Resources International, Inc.	2-Dec	72
Desalination and Water Purification Technology Roadmap - A Report of the Executive Committee	Bureau of Reclamation, Sandia National Laboratories	3-Jan	95
An Expert System for Decision-making in the Use of Desalination for Augmenting Water Supplies (abstract)	University of North Carolina	8-Aug	107
Industry Consortium Analysis of Large Diameter Reverse Osmosis/Nanofiltration Element Diameters	Dow Chemical Company	4-Sep	114
Barriers to Thermal Desalination in the United States	Water Consultants Int'l	8-Mar	144
Treatment of Concentrate	Mickley & Associates; Boulder, CO	May-09	155
Facility Surveys
National Desalting and Water Treatment Needs Survey	Bureau of Reclamation	May-93	2
National Facilities Survey - Part 1	Separation Consultants, Inc	Sep-94	12
National Facilities Survey - Part 2	Separation Consultants, Inc	Jan-97	38
Cogeneration (no reports)
Cost Estimation & Economics
Survey of U.S. Costs and Water Rates for Desalination and Membrane Softening Plants	Leitner & Associates, Inc	Jun-97	24
Water Treatment Estimation Routine (WaTER) User Manual (2006 excel spreadsheet)	Bureau of Reclamation & NIST	Aug-99	43
WTCost II: Modeling the Capital and Operating Costs of Thermal Desalination Processes Utilizing a Recently Developed Computer Program that Evaluates Membrane Desalting, Electrodialysis, and Ion Exchange Plants	I. Moch and Associates	8-Feb	130
Improving the Thermodynamic and Economic Efficiencies of Desalination Plants: Minimum Work Required for Desalination and Case Studies of Four Working Plants	University of Nevada at Reno	3-Nov	78