Is Freshwater Running Out? Discover the Shocking Truth Beneath the Ocean!

CARLSBAD, Calif. — In a bold attempt to tackle the global water crisis, a company called OceanWell is pioneering a revolutionary approach to desalination by moving the technology 1,300 feet below the ocean's surface. This initiative, named Water Farm 1, aims to leverage natural ocean pressure to power reverse osmosis—a method that filters out salt and impurities from seawater—producing up to 60 million gallons (nearly 225 million liters) of freshwater daily.

Desalination has been criticized for its high energy consumption, with plants across the globe emitting between 500 and 850 million tons of carbon annually—surpassing emissions from the entire global aviation industry, which stands at roughly 880 million tons. OceanWell asserts that their deep-sea method could reduce energy use by about 40% compared to traditional desalination plants, addressing significant environmental concerns such as the concentrated brine that is often discharged back into the ocean, posing threats to marine habitats including coral reefs and harming the delicate marine food web.

“The freshwater future of the world is going to come from the ocean,” said Robert Bergstrom, CEO of OceanWell. “And we’re not going to ask the ocean to pay for it.”

This innovative approach comes at a crucial time. As climate change exacerbates droughts, disrupts rainfall patterns, and fuels wildfires, more regions are turning to the ocean for drinking water. In many countries—especially in arid regions like the Middle East, parts of Africa, and Pacific island nations—desalination is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Currently, over 20,000 desalination plants operate worldwide, with the industry expanding at an annual rate of about 7% since 2010.

Peiying Hong, a professor of environmental science and engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, remarked, “With aridity and climate change issues increasing, desalination will become more and more prevalent as a key technology globally.”

However, experts caution that scaling up desalination could lead to even greater damage to coastal ecosystems, which are already under stress due to warming waters and pollution. Some companies are exploring alternative methods, such as renewable energy to power plants and more efficient membrane technology to ease energy consumption. Others, like Flocean and Waterise, are also testing subsea desalination systems for commercial use.

Beyond Southern California, OceanWell has agreed to test its system in Nice, France, a region similarly grappling with droughts. Currently, a prototype operates in the Las Virgenes Reservoir where local water authorities are collaborating with the company to diversify their water supply. If successful, the reverse osmosis pods will be installed on the ocean floor in Santa Monica Bay, with an underwater pipeline transporting freshwater to shore while minimizing ecological disturbances.

Gregory Pierce, director of UCLA’s Water Resources Group, has expressed cautious optimism regarding deep-sea desalination, noting that while it appears promising from both environmental and technical perspectives, the ultimate determinant will be its cost. “It’s almost always much higher than you project,” he said, emphasizing the importance of economic viability.

The Las Virgenes Reservoir serves approximately 70,000 residents in western Los Angeles County, relying on water transported over 400 miles from the northern Sierra Nevada. This process consumes significant energy, and during periods of low rainfall, the reservoir suffers, underscoring the need for alternative water sources.

Approximately 100 miles down the coast lies the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which has become central to California’s ongoing debate over the environmental impacts of desalination. Operational since 2015, it produces up to 54 million gallons (approximately 204 million liters) of drinking water daily, supplying about 10% of San Diego County’s water needs—enough for roughly 400,000 households.

As droughts and wildfires continue to strain water supplies, cities are increasingly reliant on imported water. San Diego, for instance, imports about 90% of its supply from the Colorado River and Northern California, sources becoming increasingly constrained by climate change. While desalination was promoted as a sustainable, local, drought-proof solution, environmental groups have raised concerns regarding its impact on marine life and the associated carbon footprint.

“It sucks in a tremendous amount of water, and with that, sea life,” said Patrick McDonough, a senior attorney with San Diego Coastkeeper, which has actively challenged the project. “We’re not just talking fish, turtles, birds, but larvae and spores—entire ecosystems.”

In 2009, a Regional Water Quality Control Board order estimated that the Carlsbad plant would entrain around 10 pounds (about 4.5 kilograms) of fish daily, requiring the operators to mitigate these impacts by restoring wetlands elsewhere. Yet, even after years, this restoration has yet to be completed, and a 2019 study indicated that the plant’s brine discharge raises offshore salinity above permitted levels without significant biological changes—likely due to prior industrial activity in the area.

Michelle Peters, CEO of Channelside Water Resources, which owns the Carlsbad facility, insists that measures have been taken to minimize marine life uptake, including large organism exclusion devices and one-millimeter screens. Despite these efforts, some smaller species can still slip through. The plant does dilute its brine discharge with additional seawater before releasing it back into the ocean, and extensive monitoring has shown no measurable impacts to surrounding marine life, according to Peters.

Experts argue for prioritizing water recycling and conservation, noting that wastewater purification typically uses far less energy than seawater desalination and leads to fewer impacts on marine ecosystems. Las Virgenes is pursuing a wastewater reuse project alongside its desalination efforts. “What we are looking for is a water supply that we can count on when Mother Nature does not deliver,” said Las Virgenes' Pedersen. “Developing new sources of local water is really a critical measure to be more drought and climate ready.”