In fact, I've discussed this with the Planning Department in San Diego and they were very excited about the idea and offered to work with me on the permits if I was serious about installing the equipment. So, that's a bit of a real-world counterpoint to the California hate. I think California is overly regulated on many fronts but if you actually sit down with the regulators they're not necessarily your enemy.

For most of California, though, desalination is the way to go. It's only in the far eastern deserts that an alternative could gain a foothold and with tariffs on solar nothing based on renewable energy is going to happen in any case.