Salt Water

Saline water is a general term for water that contains a significant concentration of dissolved salts (NaCl). The concentration is usually expressed in parts per million (ppm) of salt.

Water that is saline contains significant amounts (referred to as "concentrations") of dissolved salts. In this case, the concentration is the amount (by weight) of salt in water, as expressed in "parts per million" (ppm). If water has a concentration of 10,000 ppm of dissolved salts, then one percent (10,000 divided by 1,000,000) of the weight of the water comes from dissolved salts.The salinity concentration level used by United States Geological Survey classifies saline water in three categories. Slightly saline water contains around 1,000 to 3,000 ppm. Moderately saline water contains roughly 3,000 to 10,000 ppm. Highly saline water has around 10,000 to 35,000 ppm of salt. Seawater has a salinity of roughly 35,000 ppm, equivalent to 35 g/L.

Normally, moderately or highly salinated water is of little use to humans. Humans cannot drink salinized water directly, nor is it suitable for irrigating crops. Though some industries also make use of saline water, such as mining and thermoelectric-power.

Water salinity based on dissolved salts in parts per thousand (ppt)

Fresh water| Brackish water |Saline water Brine

< 0.5| 0.5 – 30| 30 – 50 > 50

When going to Mission Bay Beach in San Diego, CA my family and I don’t go into the water.  The ocean water is salt water.  If we do go into the water, and the water gets into our eyes our eyes really hurt a lot.  We usually just go to have fun in the sun and play with our son building castles, roads, and pyramids.  It’s amazing to see how many people don’t even bother to go into the water if it’s so salty.