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W -.J ~ w California desert areas could be used to replace or convert existing petroleum-fueled powerplants in the Los Angeles and San Diego basins. 5. Centralized collection of saline water and wastewater or blowdown for export to evaporation disposal sites presents an opportunity to contain or minimize undesirable environmental effects of final disposal. The institutional arranfements for implementing the options considered in this study do not fi trad,tional modes, but rather lend themselves to a unique partnership between the Federal Government and industry. The nonsalinity benefits identified by the study would largely fall to non- Governmental entities in the form of decreased costs or increased project potentials. Alternatively, salinity control, environmental enhancement, and energy production potential associated with the options are regional and national in scope. In the coal slurry option, the benefits to industry would appear to suggest that leadership for implementation be in the non-Federal sector. Similarly, the local use options may lend themselves more to a turnkey approach by industry where long lead times for Federal water resources planning process could be avoided. In such partnerships, it may be desirable to have the Federal Government function as facilitator and financial participant as opposed to taking the lead in implementation. The financial implications to the Government and industry from the concepts considered appear to be very significant. The base case of a sole source, Federal salinity control effort, using desalting plants and lined evapora- tion ponds for ultimate disposal, would require significant investments in terms of up-front construction costs plus continuing annual operation, maintenance, replacement, and energy costs. Conversely, if the private sector makes the identified investments for coal slurry 1 ines and for local use water supply facilities, those investments would involve a similar financial demand. Thus, if a part of the Government capital, that would otherwise be dedicated to structural control measures, could be focused toward a joint venture with energy-related industries, the lesser combined costs could be shared with decreased investments by both. Detailed cost allocation for joint venture facilities would need to be addressed in future studies. Conclusions Local saline water use (less than 100 miles) for energy production looks promising. However, cost-effectiveness is very sensitive to specific site conditions. Demonstration of the long-term operating characteristics of saline water cooling towers may be a prerequisite to local use. Most utilities need regulatory and/or financial incentives to encourage use of saline water as opposed to using fresh water. Financial assistance to offset additional costs of using saline water in combination with State implementation of the Forum's Policy for Use of Brackish and/or Saline Water for Industrial Purposes are necessary if these options are to be implemented. 12