Desalination Guide: How It Works, Home vs Industrial, Cost, and Impact
Quick Answer: Desalination removes salt and minerals from seawater or brackish water to produce fresh water. Home reverse osmosis systems produce 50-200 gallons per day and cost $0.10-$0.30 per gallon, while industrial plants deliver millions of gallons for under $0.005 per gallon. Energy use and brine disposal are the main environmental concerns, but desalinated water typically meets [EPA](https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water) and [WHO](https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/water-sanitation-and-health) drinking water standards. Only 2.5% of the Earth’s water is fresh, and much of that is locked in glaciers or deep aquifers. For coastal communities, islands, and arid regions, the ocean represents an almost unlimited source of water , if you can remove the salt. Desalination does exactly that. Over the past two decades, it has grown from a niche technology into a global industry that supplies drinking water to more than 300 million people. According to the International Water Association, desalination capacity exceeded 100 million cubic meters per day in 2023, and that number is climbing fast. ...