At Aqueduct magazine we're accustomed to talking about water. And why not? It's vital to our health, keeps our agriculture thriving and supports the Southland's $600 billion economy. Without water, people can't live, products don't get made, construction doesn't happen and industry doesn't exist. Yet, we in Southern California have a limited local supply of water-one that's affected by several variables, including hydrology, geography and the politics of bringing water from other places.

One of the most insidious culprits to the region's water quality and supply reliability is salt. NaCl. Sodium Chloride. Call it what you will, the same chemical that makes pickles and popcorn taste better also ruins water pipes and water heaters, and stymies the production of fruits and vegetables.

Salinity has been called the most under-recognized water quality problem in California and in the nation. It's blamed for the degradation of groundwater basins, impairs the ability to do water recycling and is said to cost Southern California millions in economic damages.

More importantly—from a water supply standpoint—it also limits the region's ability to recharge its groundwater basins.

Groundwater basins, which can store millions of acre-feet of drinking water, are the keys to drought-proofing California and the nation. Before these basins can be used to their full potential, however, many must be desalted. About 600,000 tons of salt a year accumulates in the groundwater basins along the Southern California coastal plain, according to a 1999 study by Metropolitan and the Bureau of Reclamation.

The salt occurs naturally when water moving its way down rivers picks up minerals from the soil. It also comes from people, who have increased the salinity concentration in water via irrigation and long-term indoor water conservation measures.

Salt's effects are so wide-ranging, officials believe that the region saves about $100 million in economic impacts for every 100 milligrams/liter of salt removed from water.

In 1975, the seven basin states along the Colorado River—Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the upper basin and Arizona, California and Nevada in the lower basin—created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum to reduce salinity and recommend water quality standards for various points along the Colorado. Current measures prevent 700,000 tons of salt from reaching the river each year. Some of those include getting farmers to switch from flood irrigation to using sprinklers and lining canals to prevent salts leaching from the soil.

But salt is not a new variable. Throughout time salt has impacted our lives—for better and worse. That's why we've chosen to take a small break from our all-water-all-the-time editorial policy to write about salt.

In this issue, writer Thair Peterson explores how salt effects our body. Debra Sass takes you on a virtual tour of the home and discusses how salt affects pipes, appliances, and the efficacy of your laundry soap. And don't pass up guest columnist Rich Atwater's review of Mark Kurlansky's new book "Salt; A World History," which explores the long-time relationship between humankind and sodium chloride.

Enjoy.

to top