Background
As the population of the world grows, water systems must provide for more people. Dallas’ surface water supply is projected to exceed water demand for the next fifty years, despite drastic population growth. However, other areas of the world are not as fortunate to be in this situation. California has almost used 100% of its groundwater, its main source of water, and other areas of the world do not currently have reliable sources of water. Only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh, so being able to use the other 97% for drinking/bathing/everyday use could solve the global water crisis. This is where water desalination can help.
What is water desalination?
Water desalination is the process of removing salts and other impurities from seawater, making it potable. Water desalination technology has been around for centuries, but it has improved drastically in recent years. There are two types of water desalination: thermal, and reverse osmosis. Thermal desalination involves heating the seawater to produce steam, which is condensed into fresh water, while reverse osmosis involves applying immense pressure to seawater, forcing it through a semi-permeable membrane that removes salts and impurities.
Image: Water desalination plant
Sourced from: https://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/desalination.html
Pros and cons of water desalination
Pros:
Water desalination allows people to have access to more drinking water, especially as naturally fresh water becomes scarcer. Water desalination is an extremely reliable source of freshwater. While weather and droughts affect water sources around the world today, water desalination remains unaffected through these same conditions. Another benefit of water desalination is that it reduces the dependence on freshwater sources around the world, especially as they become increasingly scarce. This not only saves the freshwater that is left, but it also helps reduce the spread of waterborne disease as thermal desalination and reverse osmosis are able to kill these diseases.
Cons:
While water desalination has its set of benefits, it also has some drawback as well. Water desalination is expensive, not only does it cost a lot of money, but it also uses lots of energy. Additionally, the water desalination can result in the discharge of highly concentrated brine, which can have a negative effect on the marine environment.
Conclusion
Water desalination could very well be the answer to the global water crisis. While it is currently very expensive and has a toxic biproduct, improvements can and will be made, allowing water desalination to be the future of potable water. By continuing to invest in research and development of the water desalination process, desalination can become more sustainable and efficient, making it the solution to future water needs.
