PLATFORM : Pricey Water

The reason we now have to grapple with water shortages--rainfall aside--is because we’ve taken away the incentives to find alternatives.

Desalination is a viable alternative. It works. It isn’t a gee-whiz technology. We can desalinate (ocean) salt water and are doing so routinely. The problem is that we’re only using desalination as a last resort; and that’s because other supplies of water are substantially less expensive.

My argument is that the alternative supplies of water may not be priced on a real cost basis--what it costs to find, treat and deliver it. If they were pricing on a real cost basis, the cost of desalination would probably compare much more favorably.

(The public is) already proving its willingness to pay by buying bottled water. They will opt for much higher prices and an assurance of a quality supply long before they rebel about increased costs.