eli5: If we have methods like desalination, why is the world suffering from a water shortage, when 70% of the Earth is water?

Question

Even though the water is saline, to the best of my understanding, you can convert saltwater into freshwater so why is there a water crisis?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Short answer is that’s it’s not profitable yet. And your not just removing salt from water. You’re removing everything else we’ve put in there. So that makes it a little bit harder.