Unconventional Waters: A Critical Understanding of Desalination and Wastewater Reuse

Résumé En

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