Tapping the Oceans provides a detailed analysis of the political and ecological debates facing water desalination in the twenty-first century.

Water supplies for cities around the world are undergoing profound geographical, technological and political transformations. Increasingly, water-stressed cities are looking to the oceans to fix unreliable, contested and over-burdened water supply systems. Yet the use of emerging desalination technologies is accompanied by intense debates on their economic cost, governance, environmental impact and poses wider questions for the sustainable and just provision of urban water. Through a series of cutting-edge case studies and multi-subject approaches, this book explores the perspectives, disputes and politics surrounding water desalination on a broad geographical scale.

As the first book of its kind, this unique work will appeal to those researching water and infrastructure issues in the fields of political ecology, geography, environmental science and sustainability. Industry and water managers who wish to understand the political debates around desalination technology more fully will also find this an informative read.

Contributors include: E. Feitelson, M. Fragkou, S. Gorostiza, A. Loftus, H. March, J. McEvoy, D. Pavón Gamero, D. Sauri, A. Scheba, S. Scheba, E. Swyngedouw, M. Usher, J. Williams