Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Summary -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Historical and Contemporary Context for Desalination -- 3 Water for the Future -- 4 State of the Technology -- 5 Environmental Issues -- 6 The Costs and Benefits of Desalination -- 7 Implementation Issues -- 8 A Strategic Research Agenda for Desalination -- References -- Glossary -- Appendixes -- Appendix A: Desalination Federal Funding Survey -- Appendix B: Mass and Energy Balance on Reverse Osmosis System -- Appendix C: Desalination Economics Summary Data -- Appendix D: Estimating Unit Costs of Water Supply Options -- Appendix E: Water Science and Technology Board -- Appendix F: Biographical Sketches for Committee on Advancing Desalination Technology.