SciLine

What are you looking for?

Popular Searches

Experts on Camera

Dr. David Jassby: Desalination for drinking water

SciLine interviews experts and then makes the video and other resources rapidly available for TV newsrooms to use on air.

Journalists: Get Email Updates

What is Experts on Camera?

Coastal communities across the U.S. are considering ocean water desalination to meet their drinking water needs. By creating more drinking water along the coast, desalination plants can also improve water availability for inland communities through water rights trading.  On July 28, 2026, SciLine interviewed Dr. David Jassby, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.

TV bundle includes:

  • Soundbite (SOT)
  • VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
  • Raw, full-length interview video & log with timecodes (upon request via form below)

These resources are free to use. No attribution to SciLine is required.

Soundbite (SOT) and pronouncer

Downloadable video of the soundbite

High definition (mp4, 1280x720)

Download

Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)

ANCHOR
DROUGHT CONTINUES TO STRAIN WATER SUPPLIES ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST… AND SOME COMMUNITIES ARE TURNING TO DESALINATED SEAWATER TO KEEP THE TAPS FLOWING.

VO
SO HOW DOES DESALINATION WORK?
TO REMOVE THE SALT FROM SEAWATER… TREATMENT PLANTS PUMP WATER THROUGH A MEMBRANE THAT ACTS LIKE A SPAGHETTI STRAINER WITH TINY HOLES… WATER PASSES THROUGH… AND SALT IS FILTERED OUT.
DOCTOR DAVID JASSBY IS A PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AT U-C-L-A.
HE SAYS TURNING SEAWATER INTO DRINKING WATER COMES WITH A COST… AND THAT COST COULD MEAN HIGHER WATER BILLS FOR CUSTOMERS.

SOT
Duration: 1:04
Super: Dr. David Jassby, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UCLA
“There is no question that water desalination requires energy, and it costs more than treating, for example, river water or lake water, even fresh groundwater. So, there’s a trade-off. But if you don’t have a choice then you don’t have a choice. And we have to understand and remember that our society relies on access to abundant potable water for many things. And it’s not just for drinking, it’s also for bathing, it’s for watering our lawns and our plants, for cooking. It’s just a very important part of our lives. Most people don’t think twice about opening a faucet and water comes out. It’s certainly not a given in other parts of the world. And if we want to continue to enjoy those kinds of amenities in certain regions, there are just too many people, not enough portable resources or fresh water resources. You have to turn towards desalination.”

VO
ONLY COASTAL AREAS WITH EASY ACCESS TO SEAWATER CAN RELY ON DESALINATION.
BUT WHEN THEY DO…THEY CAN ACTUALLY HELP FREE UP OTHER WATER SUPPLIES FOR INLAND COMMUNITIES FACING DROUGHT.

Raw, full-length interview covers:

  • How desalination technology works, its benefits, and its drawbacks;
  • The power consumption of desalination plants;
  • Whether desalination has a negative impact on ocean ecosystems;
  • Which U.S. cities are using desalinated water and which communities would benefit from desalination infrastructure; and
  • How desalination in coastal communities could benefit inland communities.

More from Environment & Energy, Water Quality