Desalination of seawater has traditionally been more talk than action over the years. That may soon change in California, as officials look toward the Pacific to meet the growing demands of an expanding state population, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported. "As California's population grows, more cities are considering drinking ocean water," reporter Elise Kleeman wrote in a comprehensive overview of the trend. "Declining water supplies and advancing technology are pushing water districts all along the California coast to consider desalination." On the shores of the windswept Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, nine desalination plants have been proposed for this area alone. And Monterey County is weighing proposals for another plant that would top the clean-water output of all of the state's existing desalination plants combined.

See:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2004/December/19/local/stories/05local.htm