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Original article: Día Mundial de los Océanos: Desalinización en Chile, abastecimiento seguro para la minería a costa del mar

By Cristóbal Rodríguez, National Spokesperson for Modatima

Every June 8, we celebrate World Oceans Day, a date that reminds us of a fundamental truth: the ocean is not an empty space or an endless source of resources. It is the system that regulates our climate, produces nearly half of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs significant amounts of carbon, and connects all territories of our planet.

Without healthy oceans, there can be no climate, food, or water security. However, as Chile grapples with one of the most severe water crises in its history, an uncomfortable question arises: Are we addressing water scarcity by shifting environmental impacts from river basins to the ocean?

The recent enactment of Law No. 21.813 regarding the use of seawater for desalination opens a new chapter in national water policy. After years of legislative debate, Chile now has specific regulations for an industry that has emerged as a primary response to drought and the depletion of inland water sources.

Desalination offers clear advantages. It generates water independent of precipitation, enhances water security in coastal areas, and can become a crucial tool for addressing climate change scenarios. However, the issue is not the technology itself but the conditions under which it is developed.

Currently, there are dozens of approved desalination projects, in construction, or under evaluation. According to data from the Public Infrastructure Corporation and the Chilean Association of Desalination and Reuse, the vast majority of the produced water is allocated to mining, while a smaller fraction is used for human consumption.

This distinction is significant, as water output from a desalination plant is not automatically suitable for human consumption. Depending on the process and end use, it may require additional treatment. However, what is often overlooked in public debate is that a considerable portion of desalinated water used in industrial applications—primarily in mining—does not need to meet drinking water standards. This same water, after use, returns to the environment laden with contaminants.

The liquid waste from these processes not only contains a high concentration of salts (known as brine) but also heavy metals and other chemical compounds characteristic of industrial activity.

If these effluents are released into soils or waterways—whether due to poor practices, accidents, or a lack of effective regulation—they can cause irreversible damage to soils, aquifers, and coastal ecosystems. Even when discharged properly into the ocean, the accumulation of heavy metals and changes in the ionic balance of the water can harm fish populations and other marine species.

This last point hits especially hard on artisanal fishing, which depends on healthy coastal ecosystems and stable biological cycles. However, industrial fishing is not exempt either: the alteration of food chains and potential shifts in fish stocks ultimately affect all extractive activities, with economic and social consequences that are rarely included in environmental impact studies.

Various studies estimate that between 80% and 85% of desalinated water in Chile is destined for mining operations. This compels us to question a widely spread narrative: the expansion of desalination plants is not primarily driven by the need to ensure the human right to water, but rather to sustain highly resource-intensive productive activities.

At the same time, scientific evidence shows that desalination generates impacts that cannot be ignored. The intake of seawater can affect microscopic organisms, eggs, and larvae that form the basis of marine food chains. Furthermore, the discharge of brine—the hyper-saline waste resulting from the process—can alter the physical and chemical conditions of sensitive coastal ecosystems, especially when projects are located in bays with low water circulation or in areas of high biodiversity.

The challenge, then, is not whether to desalinate or not. The real discussion revolves around how, where, for whom, and under what conditions this industry develops.

Chile has the opportunity to learn from international experiences and move towards a desalination model compatible with the protection of marine ecosystems.

Various research initiatives and public policy proposals outline concrete measures, such as establishing exclusion zones to prevent installations in ecologically sensitive areas; requiring ongoing monitoring of biodiversity impacts; prioritizing intake technologies that reduce harm to marine organisms; strictly regulating brine discharge; promoting renewable energy use in desalination processes; and prioritizing human supply and rural drinking water systems in times of scarcity.

These measures have been identified as priorities for advancing sustainable development of the industry in Chile.

The ocean is not an infinite source of water to sustain any development model. It is also not a space where the environmental costs of a crisis with much deeper roots—overexploitation of watersheds, concentration of water rights, ecosystem degradation, and management that has historically favored economic growth over ecological limits—can be externalized.

On World Oceans Day, the question we should ask ourselves is not just how to produce more water. The question is what kind of relationship we want to build with the ocean and the territories that depend on it. Because the ocean connects us all. What happens in its waters ultimately reverberates along our coasts, in our communities, and in our shared future.

Protecting the oceans and ensuring access to water are not contradictory goals. They are, in fact, part of the same endeavor.

Cristóbal Rodríguez, National Spokesperson for Modatima

La entrada World Oceans Day: Desalination in Chile and Its Impact on Marine Resources se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.