Worth its salt: Can desalination help address Europe's freshwater needs?

euronews (in English)

The process of desalination has been around for centuries, but has had only limited success in providing freshwater for humans. The EU is exploring ways to make it a viable solution to future water shortages.

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00:00Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater. It's seen as a drought-proof

00:11alternative to water supplies threatened by climate change. Several southern EU countries

00:16rely on it to provide fresh water for drinking and agriculture. But desalination plants are

00:22expensive to build and run and use a lot of energy, although new technologies are reducing

00:28costs and the environmental impact. They can also have an adverse environmental impact

00:33on marine animals and plants. Desalination produces a by-product called brine, a concentrated

00:39salt solution with chemicals. When discharged back into the sea, it can harm fish, coral

00:44and plankton. Many consider desalination as a last resort, only to be used once all other

00:50options such as reusing wastewater and reducing leaks have been tried. But while the technology

00:56has significant drawbacks, without it, some EU regions would not be able to meet their

01:01water demands.

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