Analysis of the process of environmental impact assessment for seawater desalination plants in Spain

•Desalination enables the development of areas with insufficient water.•Spain has used desalination plants since the seventies (mainly with RO process).•EIA enables the development of environmentally sustainable projects.•This paper discusses the EIA process for new seawater desalination plants in Spain.•It is necessary a greater public participation in the Spanish EIA process.

Desalination generates drinking water and enhances the economic, social, and environmental development of many areas with few water resources, such as parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and southern Europe (such as Spain and Cyprus).Desalination plants may cause environmental impacts in coastal areas and so it is necessary to submit plans for new plants to a process of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in order to achieve more environmentally viable projects, meaning: optimal locations; appropriately used systems and technologies; effective preventive, compensatory, and corrective measures; and social and environmental acceptance.This article contains a study of the process of environmental impact assessment for seawater desalination projects during the last 12 years in Spain through an analysis of information published in the Records of Decisions (RODs). The study describes the main aspects of the process and identifies areas for improvement.