The second and last day of the ACADES 2024 International Congress, “New Water Sources for Chile,” concluded Thursday in Santiago with panelists focused on success stories and pioneering methods in water security.

Carlos Cosin, CEO of Almar Water Solutions, elaborated on the central challenge of the event, water desalination. He said the technology runs into several barriers that have hindered advancement.

“First, we have not been able to share the environmental message in the appropriate way,” Cosin said. “Many people, including authorities, believe that desalination creates a toxic waste.”

He said desalination programs have not been found to be harmful in environmental impact studies.

A key to avoiding harm, according to research, is implementing best practices. Studies on the effects of desalination plants have found that without the appropriate mitigation measures, “desalination plants have the potential to harm the marine environment through the introduction of brine effluent and other substances in the water.”

Cosin said another barrier arises when financial regulations block potential investments.

“However, there are examples in the world that prove that this should not be a problem,” he said. “In Algeria … two state companies were put as guarantors and we were able to build four plants initially, now 12, and they have not generated any problems."

He said, despite the challenges, they have established contracts for 27 desalination plants of more than 50,000 cubic meters per day and 40 plants of 10-20,000 cubic meters.

“Combined, we have reached the contracted capacity for unconventional resources of 370 billion cubic meters per day,” he said. “When I started, we were in the range of 50-60,000.”

The importance of the ACADES Congress, according to Cosin, is to promote education about desalination methods and generate public trust.

Lessons from Australia on water management

The Australian Ambassador to Chile Todd Mercer presented initiatives by the central government of Australia on efficient and sustainable water use. 

Mercer highlighted lessons learned from the Murray-Darling basin, a central irrigation source for Australia's major food production areas. This basin is administered by the four states with the nation’s largest economies.

“The national water development initiative was created by the central government in 2004. It represents a cross-cutting commitment to reform the way we manage water,” Mercer said.

In response to the devastating effects of the millennium drought in Australia, national policy sought to promote sustainable water use and long-term water security for rural and urban communities.

“In addition, it focuses on creating new water sources without harming agricultural production,” Mercer said.

Since 2009, desalination plants have been intensively promoted in the country. Previously, they had been built only for mining and power plants.

“The focus shifted to reducing reliance on rainwater-based sources by supporting infrastructure projects and research in areas such as desalination, water reuse and water recycling,” Mercer said.

Today in Australia there are around 270 desalination plants, most of them small-scale plants used to supply drinking water to islands and remote inland areas, as well as for industrial processes and irrigation of agriculture and sports fields.

Lessons from Israel on water management

Miriam Brusilovsky, president of the Israel Desalination Society, shared Israel's success story with efficient water use, particularly regarding desalination. In Israel, more than 55% of drinking water comes from desalination.

She said, “seeing the steps that Chile is taking, and the great effort that ACADES is making, reminds me of when the Israel association was formed.”

With pride, Brusilovsky shared that, today, Israel can say the mission of securing water resources has been accomplished. Now the society works to educate new generations of water experts. Successful water projects, after all, require years of dedication.

She warned against complacency and lack of awareness about the importance of advanced planning. 

“The Chilean economy cannot survive without water, because it cannot survive without agriculture, which depends on water directly,” Brusilovsky said.

She said Israel's agricultural industry reuses 90% of wastewater.

“In Israel, desalination was achieved on a mass scale, but not before making risky decisions,” Brusilovsky said. “However, the need that existed for water at a social level was the most important thing. As we all know, need is the mother of creativity.”

She encouraged Chile to be proactive in its planning because drought cycles are a reality that is here to stay.