Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
Water 300 m deep lies about 8 km off Jeddah. [5]
The Red Sea averages 490 m deep and reaches more than 2,200 m. [2]
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, at more than 11.1 million m³ a day. [6]
On the Red Sea coast, Shuaiba 5 (664,000 m³ a day) supplies Makkah. [7]
Gulf of Oman
Water 300 m deep lies about 52 km off Fujairah. [5]
Off the Omani coast the seabed falls steeply to more than 3,000 m. [3]
Fujairah 1, on the UAE’s east coast, can desalinate 591,000 m³ of seawater a day, more than half of it by reverse osmosis. [9]
In Oman, Barka IV (281,000 m³ a day) and Sur II (131,000 m³ a day) supply drinking water. [10]
Mediterranean, Israel
Water 300 m deep lies about 21 km off Palmachim. [5]
Five major seawater plants, Palmachim, Hadera, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Sorek A, produced about 1.63 million m³ of desalinated water a day in 2022. [11]
Mediterranean, Spain
Water 300 m deep lies about 34 km off Torrevieja. [5]
Torrevieja, in Alicante, produces 240,000 m³ of desalinated water a day. [12]
Carboneras, in Almería, treats 120,000 m³ of seawater a day for supply and irrigation. [13]
California
Water 300 m deep lies about 7 km off Carlsbad. [5]
The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant can deliver more than 189,000 m³ of drinking water a day, enough for about 400,000 people. It began commercial operation in late 2015. [14]
Atlantic coast, Morocco
Water 300 m deep lies about 42 km off Agadir. [5]
The Agadir plant was designed for 275,000 m³ a day: 150,000 for drinking water and 125,000 to irrigate 13,600 ha in Chtouka. [15]
A plant at Sidi Rahal, near Casablanca, is being built to supply 7.5 million people. [16]
Canary Islands
Water 300 m deep lies about 8 km off Gran Canaria’s east coast. [5]
32% of the water supplied in the Canary Islands comes from seawater desalination. [17]
Spain’s first desalination plant opened on Lanzarote in 1964. [18]
Northern Chile
Water 300 m deep lies about 18 km off Antofagasta. [5]
Offshore, the Atacama Trench reaches 8,065 m. [19]
Antofagasta was the first Latin American city of more than 500,000 people to be supplied entirely with desalinated water. [20]
Chile’s copper mines are projected to draw 66% of their water from the sea by 2034. [21]
Chennai, India
Water 300 m deep lies about 31 km off Chennai. [5]
A 150,000 m³-a-day plant at Nemmeli opened in February 2024. [22]
A 400,000 m³-a-day plant at Perur is being built to serve more than 2.5 million residents. [23]
Perth, Australia
Water 300 m deep lies about 55 km off Kwinana. [5]
Perth Canyon Marine Park, 19 km west of Rottnest Island, runs from 120 m to 5,000 m deep. [24]
On average the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant at Kwinana produces 15% of Perth’s water, and the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant at Binningup 30%. [25][26]
Sydney, Australia
Water 300 m deep lies about 32 km off Kurnell. [5]
The Sydney Desalination Plant at Kurnell produces an average of 250,000 m³ of drinking water a day, and can supply up to 15% of Greater Sydney’s drinking water. [27]
