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Eric Risberg | AP
In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, Robert James of the California American Water company looks over water samples at a desalination plant in Sand City, Calif. Not long ago, the idea of squeezing salt from the ocean to make clean drinking water was embraced warmly in thirsty California with its cycles of drought and growing population. But it has not panned out the way many hoped. Desalination plants are costing more to build; they're huge energy suckers and lingering concerns about the impact to marine life have spurred myriad lawsuits. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Eric Risberg | AP
In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, city engineer Richard Simonitch looks over rows of membranes that filter water at a desalination plant in Sand City, Calif. Not long ago, the idea of squeezing salt from the ocean to make clean drinking water was embraced warmly in thirsty California with its cycles of drought and growing population. But it has not panned out the way many hoped. Desalination plants are costing more to build; they're huge energy suckers and lingering concerns about the impact to marine life have spurred myriad lawsuits. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Eric Risberg | AP
In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, is the exterior of a shut down desalination plant in Marina, Calif. Not long ago, the idea of squeezing salt from the ocean to make clean drinking water was embraced warmly in thirsty California with its cycles of drought and growing population. But it has not panned out the way many hoped. Desalination plants are costing more to build; they're huge energy suckers and lingering concerns about the impact to marine life have spurred myriad lawsuits. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Eric Risberg | AP
In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, Robert James of the California American Water company looks over an intake pipe from an aquifer at a desalination plant in Sand City, Calif. Not long ago, the idea of squeezing salt from the ocean to make clean drinking water was embraced warmly in thirsty California with its cycles of drought and growing population. But it has not panned out the way many hoped. Desalination plants are costing more to build; they're huge energy suckers and lingering concerns about the impact to marine life have spurred myriad lawsuits. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Eric Risberg | AP
In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, Jim Heitzman, general manager of the Marina Coast Water District, looks over the interior of a shut down desalination plant in Marina, Calif. Not long ago, the idea of squeezing salt from the ocean to make clean drinking water was embraced warmly in thirsty California with its cycles of drought and growing population. But it has not panned out the way many hoped. Desalination plants are costing more to build; they're huge energy suckers and lingering concerns about the impact to marine life have spurred myriad lawsuits. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Eric Risberg | AP
In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, in the left foreground is the exterior of a shut down desalination plant in Marina, Calif., with Monterey Bay in the background. Not long ago, the idea of squeezing salt from the ocean to make clean drinking water was embraced warmly in thirsty California with its cycles of drought and growing population. But it has not panned out the way many hoped. Desalination plants are costing more to build; they're huge energy suckers and lingering concerns about the impact to marine life have spurred myriad lawsuits. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
