Seawater intakes for desalination

Desalination is a growing option as a source of drinking water. Consistent and reliable feedwater is required to efficiently produce potable water. Existing intake scenarios are limited. Direct intake of surface seawater is hampered by impingement and entrainment of planktonic organisms that require additional filtration and pretreatment. Vertical beach wells are restricted by their infiltration rate, whereas radial collector wells have a greater infiltration rate, but are restricted by hydrogeological properties of the subsurface geology. Infiltration galleries provide sizeable infiltration rates, but are constrained to select geological provinces. A synthetic beach well designed to overcome the existing limitation is proposed.