OceanWell, a water technology company, is testing new deep-sea desalination tech off California's coast that could reduce the costs of drinking water for billions of people facing water scarcity.
The Los Angeles Times reported that OceanWell's CEO, Robert Bergstrom, called the technology a "moonshot" that could transform access to drinking water worldwide. If the system proves it can produce affordable drinking water, the company plans on building a revolutionary water farm anchored to the seafloor off the coast of Malibu.
"It can potentially provide us Californians with a reliable water supply that doesn't create toxic brine that impacts marine life, nor does it have intakes that suck the life out of the ocean," Mark Gold, director of water scarcity solutions for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Times. "If this technology is proven to be viable, scalable and cost-effective, it would greatly enhance our climate resilience."
Several large water utilities in Southern California are awaiting the results of the pilot study, supported by Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. If all goes smoothly, they hope the technology could provide more water for cities and suburbs that face shortages during droughts, without the environmental hazards of large desalination plants.
Tim Quinn, the company's water policy strategist, told the Times that the tech pulls only fresh water from the ocean, and minimal amounts of salt are left behind. For the next phase of the trial, the team is planning tests farther offshore.
"We hope to be building water farms under the ocean in 2028," Quinn said.
Since over four billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, the desalination tech has huge potential to save lives while saving consumers money. With California facing frequent droughts because of the shifting climate, many cities in the southern part of the state rely on imported supplies, which are typically more expensive than locally sourced water.
In addition to being better for people, the tech is also a win for the environment, as deep-sea desalination requires far less electricity to run than traditional desalination plants.
The first water farm will have around 20 to 25 pods — long devices that take in saltwater and transport purified fresh water back to shore — with OceanWell planning to add more pods to supply 250,000 people with drinking water.
Las Virgenes and other water utilities are studying delivery methods for the water to households and how much it would cost. David Pedersen, Las Virgenes' general manager, said his district depends almost entirely on imported water. He hopes it will be able to tap into desalinated water supplies by 2030.
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Southern California's water agencies are planning to build facilities to turn wastewater into clean drinking water and have been investing in projects to capture stormwater. These technologies will ensure public safety in the face of severe storms and provide additional water resources.
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