By Wendy Anders 

With no end in sight to Guanacaste’s ongoing potable water shortages as wells throughout the region face very low levels, some businesses and also the government are turning to sea-water processing as an alternative.

Last month, Reserva Conchal hotel inaugurated the first desalination plant in Costa Rica which produces 23 liters of potable water per second by processing ocean water, as reported in The Voice of Guanacaste regional paper.

Since the Conchal plant started operating, five other businesses have submitted paperwork to the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (Setena) requesting environmental feasibility studies as part of the permit process for desalination projects, said The Voice of Guanacaste.

The Reserva Conchal Resort is situated on Playa Conchal in Cabo Velas, a 45-minute drive from the Liberia International Airport. One of Costa Rica’s most luxurious resorts, Conchal includes a Robert Trent Jones II championship golf course, and an all-inclusive five-star hotel with 412 oversized suites.

Vice-Minister of Water for the Environment and Energy Ministry, Fernando Mora, said to The Voice that currently desalination plants can only be employed in Costa Rica for human consumption, for irrigation or for tourism-related projects.

Once project are granted an environmental feasibility permit from Setena, they must request a water concession from Mora’s office, he explained.

In addition to private initiatives, Costa Rican Water and Sewerage Institute (AyA) Director Yamileth Astorga, told The Voice of Guanacaste that her agency is planning to build a desalination plant at Playa Panamá in the near future, and train staff to operate it.

Playa Panamá currently faces severe water shortages after their well output decreased from 100 liters per second to 4 liters per second, and as a result has become salinized and unfit for human consumption. Local residents currently receive drinking water from water cisterns.

One concern raised about desalination plants was the discharge of salty brine and whether this would affect local ecosystems.

In a report on the topic in September 2015 also by The Voice, marine biologist Cristian Fonseca, from the National University’s Marine Station explained that as long as the discharge is natural and not chemical, the impact is minimal if any.

“The issue is where the residues are discharged. If residues such as brine are discharged in wide open spaces there is no problem, since the salts dissolve in the ocean. Marine organisms are adapted to deal with variations in salt levels, Ph levels, and certain temperature fluctuations that also happen naturally. The issue is that if the discharge happens in small areas such as a mangrove swamp, then there could be effects,” said Fonseca to The Voice.