In March 2021, Daijiworld reported that the state's first seawater desalination plant, at Tannirbavi in Mangaluru, was 70 per cent complete. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) was building it to pipe water to its refinery. A Chennai-based contractor held the 595 crore rupee order. The site covered 13 acres of New Mangalore Port Trust land. MRPL needed six million gallons a day (about 27,300 m³/d) and had so far drawn water from the Netravati river.
The report showed a coastal industrial user turning to desalination to end its reliance on river water, which the city cut for industry whenever drinking water ran short.
Source: Daijiworld