5 Currently, there are at least 11 brine
discharge locations registered
in the San Quintín Bay.Photo:
Enrique Alfaro.
The problem lies in the mismanagement of brine
disposal, since most of it is discharged back into the
sea or directly to the ground, where it accumulates
and dries up, creating salt crusts that make any type
of plant growth impossible in those grounds.
Although this has still not happened in San
Quintín Bay, other of the most significant threats
to the environment related to the desalination of
seawater is the entrainment and impingement of
organisms in the desalination process (Cooley et al.
2006), because as Correa (n.d.) states: “Seawater is
not just a simple saline solution, it is actually an active biological environment that, besides containing
salts, it also presents different types of molecules,
particles and living organisms.”
There are different technologies, techniques and
recommendations that allow adequate management and disposal of reverse osmosis brine (Sánchez-Lizaso et al., 2008; Abessi & Roberts, 2014);
however, given that the technology used in desalination plants is relatively new in Baja California and
Mexico, there are no current regulations that control them, which results in bad practices, no mitigation actions and, mainly, no preventive measures
for