Williams, Joe  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2125-8951
2026.
REVISITING: Desalination ss the new and inexhaustible water source.
Molle, François and Barone, Sylvain, eds.
Best Practices in Global Water Policy: Revisiting Water Mantras,
Routledge,
pp. 40-50.
(10.4324/9781003745532-4)
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Abstract
This chapter critically examines the narrative that desalination offers a technological solution to the global water crisis. It situates contemporary techno-optimism within a longer history of recurring waves of the development of desalination since the 1950s. While global desalination capacity has expanded dramatically and innovations have reduced costs, this chapter argues that claims of limitless, sustainable, or equitable desalination are misleading. The technology’s social, political, and environmental implications – ranging from high energy demands and ecological impacts to the reinforcement of water inequality and privatisation – are explained. Through historical and contemporary case studies, this chapter shows that desalination reflects broader ideological commitments to modernity, neoliberalism, and techno-triumphalism rather than simply solving water scarcity. It concludes that desalination may contribute to addressing water challenges, but only within specific contexts and with careful attention to equity, governance, and sustainability.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > Geography and Planning (GEOPL) Schools > School of Social and Spatial Sciences |
| Publisher: | Routledge |
| ISBN: | 9781041251927 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Aug 2026 13:55 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/188818 |
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