A practical guide to understanding the real, long-term cost of different water sources—centralized and distributed—including desalination, groundwater, trucking, and atmospheric water generation.

Why “Cost of Water” Is Hard to Compare

Water costs are often reported in different units, timeframes, and contexts. Desalination might be quoted per cubic meter, trucking per load, and new technologies per kWh or per liter. Global demand is rising by about 1% per year, increasing pressure on all sources. UNESCO+1

The most realistic way to compare options is through Levelized Cost of Water (LCOW)—the lifetime, all-in cost divided by total water produced.

Core Cost Drivers

• Capital expenditure (CAPEX): plants, pipelines, wells, equipment

• Operating expenditure (OPEX): energy, chemicals, filters/media, labor

• Infrastructure & logistics: pipes, pumping, trucking, storage

• Regulatory & environmental compliance: brine disposal, extraction limits

• Risk premiums: exposure to drought, politics, or energy prices

Desalination

• Strong solution for coastal regions

• High CAPEX and significant energy needs

• Brine management and environmental impacts add ongoing costs UN-Water

Groundwater & Surface Water

• Historically cheap, but increasingly constrained

• Over-extraction, pollution, and declining quality are driving new regulation and treatment costs UN-Water+1

Trucked Water

• Flexible but expensive, with volatile fuel and labor costs

• Highly sensitive to distance and terrain

• Better as a stopgap than a primary strategy

Atmospheric Water

• Historically energy-heavy and limited to humid climates

• New architectures using advanced materials (such as hydrogel membranes feeding a liquid desiccant) dramatically improve efficiency and expand viable climates. PubMed+2arXiv+2

Takeaway

For long-term planning, organizations should:

1. Convert all options into LCOW.

2. Add risk and resilience value: What is continuity worth?

3. Consider hybrid portfolios: desal + reuse + distributed atmospheric water.