Secondly, when considering end-to-end efficiency, it is much less energy-intensive to heat water by direct use of natural gas on-site, rather than by using that natural gas to first make electricity that is used to heat water because of the large conversion losses at power plants.

FORBES: To Conserve Energy - Conserve Water

Dams for irrigation, meanwhile, have a doubly damaging impact on fisheries: they not only hold back water, but also encourage the conversion of forest to farmland in the flood-plain.

ECONOMIST: The Mekong river

Opponents of the method, however, are saying that the conversion process uses great amounts of fossil fuels and that it harms marine life through its vast duct system whereby it pipes water into the desalination facilities.

FORBES: San Diego Fishing for Fresh Drinking Water in Pacific Ocean