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Desalination is an increasingly common method of meeting potable water demands, but the associated ecological risks are not well understood. Seawater desalination plants discharge large volumes of hypersaline brine directly into the ocean, raising concerns about potential impacts to marine life. In order to reduce impacts of brine, newer desalination outfalls are often fitted with high-pressure diffusers that discharge brine at high velocity into the water column, increasing the mixing and dilution of brine with ocean water. However, there are few published studies of marine impacts of desalination brine, and no well replicated before-after designs. Here we report a six-year study testing for impacts and subsequent recovery of sessile marine invertebrate recruitment near a desalination outfall with high-pressure diffusers. We used a Multiple Before-After-Control-Impact (MBACI) design to test for impacts and recovery at …