Reverse Osmosis and Other Treatment Technologies - Global Drinking Water Management and Conservation - page 53

Fig. 4.2 Cumulative capacity of installed desalination plants in the US and worldwide from 1950
to 2006 (National Research Council 2008 )

Water Act, marked the beginning of a long line of legislations that were designed to
fund desalination research and development. By the mid-1960s, the US had built
45 percent of all the desalination plants in operation around the world. In 1964, the
Water Resources Research Act was introduced in the US, which provided funding
for desalination R&D. During the mid- to late-1960s, much research was done on
developing membranes and distillation technology. The technology developed
during this period was made freely available worldwide, through workshops and
published reports. This easy access to the technology contributed to the decrease in
costs of desalination. The US continued to lead in desalination technology in the
1960s and 1970s, followed by Europe and Japan. In 1973, the oil embargo
increased distillation costs and the need for more energy research caused a rapid
decrease in ongoing desalination R&D. By 1974, RO had become commercialized,
reducing the need for federal support. In 1976 and 1977, the western United States
experienced a drought, which increased the interest in desalination technology. This
led to the Water Research and Conversion Act of 1977, with desalination research
focusing on RO. From 1953 to 1982, the US federal government spent over
$1 billion (in 1999 dollars) on desalination research (US Congress, Of ce of

Technology Assessment 1988 ). It is generally accepted that this government
involvement was responsible for the development of RO (Dore 2005 ). In 1996,
after a decade of limited government support to desalination research, the Water
Desalination Act was enacted. The Act re

ected a renewed interest in desalination
technology and aimed at developing more cost-effective and ef cient technologies.