Time to go big with desalination

San Francisco wants our water and Los Angeles wants our water. We do not have enough.

Last year's drought devastated the U.S. It affected everyone and everything from corn prices for cows to milk and butter. We can stop this problem with desalinization.

Santa Barbara did it long ago; now San Diego is thinking of desalinization. If the U.S. would put desalinization down the West Coast, across the gulf and up the East Coast, we could keep all the rivers, lakes and reservoirs full. In the worst conditions, reverse the pumps and drain the flood waters out. And another good deal is to put the generators in to produce electricity. Think of all the jobs it would create.

If the U.S. can put in an oil pipeline from Texas to Canada, why not pipe water to where it is needed? We can make synthetic oils and products, but we can't live without fresh water!

Every kind of worker would be needed. Secretaries, truck drivers, welders, ditch diggers and so on. The little man would be making a buck and feeding his family. This is what it's going to take to put the U.S. back on its feet.

MICHAEL PEROTTI

Modesto

Editor's note: Santa Barbara's desalination facility was constructed in 1991-92 as a temporary emergency water supply in response to severe drought. It has never been used on an ongoing basis, according to the city's website. The plant has been decommissioned but can be reactivated in case it's needed. The city says: "In the interim, it serves as a sort of insurance policy, allowing the city to use its other supplies more fully."