Desalination, although it may seem like an infrastructural necessity for growing cities, can actually become a hugely profitable sector for inter-state and international trade. One point that is rarely mentioned in the discussions of desalination, is that many methods for distributing water over long distances have already been designed and tested by the oil industry. If we look at Eastern Europe, massive networks of sending oil from countries as remote as Khazakstan to neighbors in the region have been created. So actually distributing potable water is not a problem when it comes to its profitability. The main factor that stands in the way of water as becoming a huge export of the United States is its lack of representation on the commodities market.
But what exactly is the value of clean, healthy, drinkable water? This question is extremely important because water actually has multiple grades, quite similar to how oil has different levels of grades and refinement.
Think of a barrel of crude oil. Let’s just hypothetically say it is sold for 100 dollars per barrel. But as the oil is refined into gasoline and/or jet fuel the value goes up quite significantly.
The same relationship goes for a barrel of water. A desalination plant may have a large amount of salt-water that has little value. But as it is cleaned it can be used in industrial purposes or even converted into drinking water. Now think of the water bottles we purchase while on the go. We are quite willing to pay a dollar or two for a very small amount of water, especially because thirst is an overwhelming life craving. Water is necessary for almost all human life functions and so we pay for it gladly.
Interestingly enough, desalination does not simply mean removal of salt from water. The process also includes the removal of impurities and micro-organisms.
So if the USA continues to invest in and research more efficient desalinization technology, we may have a new resource that could be worth it’s weight in gold. One thing to consider is that as the global population increases, there will not only be more people hat need to drink water, but there will be billions more people that are quite literally made out of water. And since the amount of water on the planet is a zero sum game, and water is definitely NOT a renewable resource, then the value could skyrocket faster and higher than the price of oil, natural gas, or even the most precious metals.
The most logical trade partner the USA could have for water, is Mexico. This is for several reasons. Mexico and the USA already are a part of NAFTA, so trade barriers are negligible, and US water distributors would not have to deal with massive tariffs. Also, the existence of maquiladoras in Mexico are often associated with environmental pollution of local water supplies via rivers and lakes etc. So there is a demand for clean water in Mexico. This is compounded with how there is already pipelines either proposed or already established for the transport of natural gas, and oil, as well as fiber optic communication between Mexico and he USA as a result for the Security and Prosperity talks between he two countries. An addition of water pipelines would not only be intuitive along these previously envisioned infrastructure routes, but their construction could create jobs and career employment as well.
These water pipeline networks could eventually be extended south of Mexico, deeper into Latin America.
In addition to the concept of profitability for US water purifiers and distributors, there are political benefits as well. As water becomes more scarce, especially within Mexico and South America, there is greater risk of political instability. Unrest within cities as well as disputes between sovereign countries could become a huge threat to US companies that have engaged in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in those areas. So by engaging in the massive abundant production o clean water here in the USA, we could secure financial interests abroad in the short and long-term.
Providing access to American water could also be a plan to improve the US image in Western Hemisphere politics.
Since the USA has a gigantic reserve of coal energy potential and one of the longest coastlines in the world, there is nothing holding us back from massive desalination efforts.
What needs to happen is a paradigm and perspective change on water. Instead of viewing desalination as a method to overcome domestic potable water scarcity within the domestic USA. We need to consider water as a potential money-making export that could very easily flow us through this economic dry spell, and help the USA navigate to the oceans of maximum prosperity.
-Tyler
