Unconventional Waters: A Critical Understanding of Desalination and Wastewater Reuse
Résumé
The growth of 'unconventional' water resources as a new resource frontier has been much touted over
the last two decades and is transforming society’s relationship with water in diverse contexts. Desalination and
wastewater reuse, in particular, are increasingly framed together as potentially game-changing technologies for
water management and (re)distribution and are carried forward by promises to overcome water scarcity and
enhance water security. While there are good reasons to critique the conflation of heterogeneous water resources
under the single heading of 'unconventional', we argue that the scale and scope of the transition towards
desalination and treated wastewater (which often use similar technologies) merit their inclusion in one Special
Issue. The papers presented in this issue advance our understanding of the social, political, economic and cultural
dimensions of this water transition. The papers are conceptually and empirically diverse, with case studies across
the Global North and Global South. They offer an important counterbalance to the dominant techno-triumphalist
narratives that typically surround these technologies, providing unconventional perspectives on unconventional
water. In this opening paper, we chart the emergence of unconventional water. We then introduce the papers and
highlight the cross-cutting themes of the issue: 1) the (de)politicising discourses that frame desalination and
wastewater; 2) the political economies of unconventional water; 3) the materiality and politics of these
technologies; and 4) their implications for water justice.
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