We just need to get fusion reactors to work... 
- Status
Desalination is more expensive than groundwater (wells, springs) and precipitation (rain, snowmelt, rivers, lakes) sources, but it's not out of reach by any means.
For a large desalination plant, typical costs are under 2 dollars per cubic meter of pure water output. Some technologies (reverse osmosis) get to $0.70 per cubic meter of water output:
http://www.scitopics.com/Unit_Water_Cost_for_various_Desalination_Technologies.html
Most people are paying more than that for water now, although residential water costs also include distribution and usually sewer costs as well, so while this is *more* expensive than groundwater, it's not nearly as expensive as oil, and is not likely to be anytime soon near the ocean.
And, of course, if we can get fusion working on a large scale, energy will not be that great a problem, and desalination costs will go down further.
For a large desalination plant, typical costs are under 2 dollars per cubic meter of pure water output. Some technologies (reverse osmosis) get to $0.70 per cubic meter of water output:
http://www.scitopics.com/Unit_Water_Cost_for_various_Desalination_Technologies.html
Most people are paying more than that for water now, although residential water costs also include distribution and usually sewer costs as well, so while this is *more* expensive than groundwater, it's not nearly as expensive as oil, and is not likely to be anytime soon near the ocean.
And, of course, if we can get fusion working on a large scale, energy will not be that great a problem, and desalination costs will go down further.
- Status