Dr. David Jassby: Desalination for drinking water
Reporters can request footage of SciLine’s interview with Dr. David Jassby for use in their stories.
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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. He discussed topics including:
- 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.
Request interview footage:
