Solving the water problem with distributed systems
Access to clean water is a massive global challenge (>2 billion people today lack safe drinking water). A crypto-enabled approach could incentivize a distributed network of small-scale desalination and water purification units.
Water scarcity and unreliable access to safe water are quickly becoming critical issues worldwide. Existing water systems are often centralized and aging, and struggling to meet rapid demand. Freshwater demand is outpacing supply in a lot of regions, with roughly half of the world’s population living in water-stressed areas. There are some suggestions that two-thirds of the global population will face water shortages within the decade. We’re simulataneously seeing rainfall patterns shift and glaciers recede, meaning more “Day Zero” scenarios of taps running dry.
Some estimates are that global water demand is set to increase ~40% by 2030 even as usable supplies continue to dwindle.
In the US specifically, the issue is less absolute scarcity and more outdated infrastructure. We hear a lot about the energy grid but much of the US water grid was laid in the 20th (and in some cases 19th) century. Pipes are reaching end-of-life with breaks occurring on average every 2 minutes (leading to 6 billion gallons of water lost each day; 10-15% of distribution)
Even where water exists, quality is an emergent crisis. Pollution of water sources threaten safe supply, with forever chemicals being found in the drinking water of ~170 million Americans in 2025.
TLDR: too little supply + unreliable delivery systems + unsafe water in the tap
Today’s centralized solutions rely on large-scale desalination plants. The Middle East is leading here (nearly 1/2 of the world’s desalinated water is product in the Arabian Gulf, a symptom of necessity). The huge plants being built here (Saudi Arabia has invested ~$80 billion in new desal projects) feed into centralized water grids. The centralized infra today also relies heavily on long-stance water transfers — California ships water hundreds of miles to supply the southern, populous part of its state. A stopgap measure that is unsustainable but will continue to be used over the coming years is pumping more groundwater (i.e. drilling deeper wells when surface water is scarce).
The other way to manage the issue is demand-side. Reduce demand by imposing restrictions during droughts or otherwise “using less” as a strategy to stretch more precarious supplies.
California is leaning into recycle wastewater at-scale.
Massive desal plants in the US are being met with resistance and the overall ambition is lacking even in the most dire areas (California’ 2030 strategy is calling for a marginal increase in desal projects).
States are being forced into agreeing to substantial usage cuts to prevent reservoir collapse (specifically those dependent on the Colorado River) but all of these solutions are stopgaps imposed with regulatory red tape to ration demand and incrementally augment supply.
TLDR: high costs + slow deployment + energy/environmental strain + single-points of failure + limited reach
The Case For Distributed Water Networks
A decentralized water desalination and supply network means moving toward a system of many small-scale water producers and local units that collectively meet demand and icnrease resilience. These distributed sources could be networked in “smart” ways to enable sharing excess water, providing back-up to one another, trading resources as needed in real-time.
Adjacent Technology That Enables This Today
Other Thoughts
