Desalination system and method

A desalination system, comprising:

• a desalination apparatus configured to remove hardness ions from an aqueous stream, comprising:
• first and second electrodes;
• a first group of paired ion exchange membranes disposed between the first and second electrodes to form a first group of alternating first and second channels to receive a first feed stream for removal of the hardness ions and a second feed stream to carry away the hardness ions removed from the first feed stream, respectively;
• a second group of the paired ion exchange membranes disposed between the first group of the ion exchange membranes and at least one of the first and second electrodes to form a second group of the alternating first and second channels;
• and
• a plurality of spacers disposed between each pair of the adjacent ion exchange membranes and between the first and second electrodes and the respective ion exchange membranes,
• wherein each of the ion exchange membranes in the first group of the paired ion exchange membranes is a cation exchange membrane, and wherein the second group of the paired ion exchange membranes comprises a plurality of alternating cation and anion exchange membranes.