Desalination is any process that removes salts from a variety of sources, including: seawater, brackish (water that is saltier than fresh water), river, and brine (water that is nearly saturated with salt). With improvements in technology, desalination processes are becoming cost-competitive with other methods of producing usable water for our growing needs. Both the City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District evaluated their water needs and available sources through the SCWD Integrated Water Plan (IWP) and SqCWD Integrated Resources Plan (IRP). Both reports identified investigating desalination, in addition to conservation and curtailment, as the preferred option to address the communities' long-term water needs.