Can Ocean Desalination Solve Worlds Water Shortage

Freshwater scarcity is already posing major problems for more than a billion people around the world, mostly in arid developing countries. The World Health Organization predicts that by mid-century, four billion of us -- nearly two-thirds of the world’s present population -- will face severe fresh water shortages. Population Growth Drives Quest for Water by Desalination With the human population expected to balloon another 50 percent by 2050, resource managers are increasingly looking to alternative scenarios for quenching the worlds growing thirst. Desalination  -- a process whereby highly pressurized ocean water is pushed through tiny membrane filters and distilled into drinking water -- is being held forth by some as one of the most promising solutions to the problem. But critics point out it doesnt come without its economic and environmental costs. Costs and Environmental Impact of Desalination According to the non-profit Food Water Watch, desalinated ocean water is the most expensive form of fresh water out there, given the infrastructure costs of collecting, distilling and distributing it. The group reports that, in the U.S., desalinated water costs at least five times as much to harvest as other sources of fresh water. Similar high costs are a big hurdle to desalination efforts in poor countries as well, where limited funds are already stretched too thin. On the environmental front, widespread desalination could take a heavy toll on ocean biodiversity. Ocean water is filled with living creatures, and most of them are lost in the process of desalination, says Sylvia Earle, one of the worlds foremost marine biologists and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. â€Å"Most are microbial, but intake pipes to desalination plants also take up the larvae of a cross-section of life in the sea, as well as some fairly large organisms†¦part of the hidden cost of doing business,† she says. Earle also points out that the very salty residue leftover from desalination must be disposed of properly, not just dumped back into the sea. Food Water Watch concurs, warning that coastal areas already battered by urban and agricultural run-off can ill afford to absorb tons of concentrated saltwater sludge. Is Desalination the Best Option? Food Water Watch advocates instead for better freshwater management practices. Ocean desalination hides the growing water supply problem instead of focusing on water management and lowering water usage, the group reports, citing a recent study which found that California can meet its water needs for the next 30 years by implementing cost-effective urban water conservation. Desalination is an expensive, speculative supply option that will drain resources away from more practical solutions, the group says. Of course, the recent California drought sent everyone back to their drawing boards, and the appeal of desalination has revived. A plant providing water for 110,000 customers opened in December 2015 in Carlsbad, north of San Diego, at a reported cost of $1 billion. The practice of desalinating salt water is becoming more common worldwide. Ted Levin of the Natural Resources Defense Council says that more than 12,000 desalination plants already supply fresh water in 120 nations, mostly in the Middle East and the Caribbean. And analysts expect the worldwide market for desalinated water to grow significantly over the coming decades. Environmental advocates may just have to settle for pushing to green the practice as much as possible in lieu of eliminating it altogether. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.