The National Research Council's (NRC) Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) proposes to undertake a study on Advancing Desalination Technology. A committee formed by the WSTB would conduct the study that would produce recommendations for action and research to the community of federal, state, and local governmental and private entities concerned with advancing desalination technologies. Specifically, the NRC study would address the following questions:1. Contributing to the nation¿s water supplies. What is the potential for both seawater and inland brackish water desalination to help meet anticipated water supply needs in the U.S.? How do the costs and benefits of desalination compare with other alternatives, including non-technical options such as water conservation or market transfers of water?2. Assessing the state of technology and setting goals. What is the current state-of-the-science in desalination technology? What have the recent trends been (both for sea water and for brackish water) in terms of total cost per unit of water produced and also in the energy efficiency of the process? Are there theoretical limits to the efficiency of existing technologies and is there good reason to think that significant advancement can be made towards reaching those limits? What are reasonable long-term goals for advancing desalination technology? 3. Research strategy. Following up on a recommendation in NRC (2004) calling for the development of a national research agenda, what research is needed to reach the long-term goals for advancing desalination technology? What technical barriers should be resolved with existing desalination technologies (including concentrate disposal) and what innovative technologies should be considered? In the long-term research agenda for desalination, what balance should be crafted between high-risk research in novel technologies and research that could yield incremental improvements in current technologies?4. Practical aspects of implementation. What important issues related to implementation must be addressed to significantly improve the applicability of technology for desalination to help meet the nation's water needs (e.g., economics, financing, regulatory, institutional, public acceptance)? What are the true economic costs? What factors are likely to affect the availability of financing? What are the likely regulatory issues and how easy or difficult will it be to deal with them? Are there other institutional issues? What problems, if any, may arise in ensuring public acceptability of desalinization technologies?5. Resources and roles. What order of magnitude of research funding is needed to significantly advance the field of desalination technology and what are appropriate roles for governmental and non-governmental entities, including the private sector?The project is sponsored by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.The approximate start date for the project is January 26, 2006A report will be issued at the end of the project in approximately 22 months.Update 4-9-08: The project duration has been extended. The report is expected to be issued by late April 2008.