Water & Sanitation · Projected milestone
Fresh water costs pennies
Estimated year~2055
22% by 2060 · including earlier years
The year is an editorial timing estimate. The percentage applies to occurrence by the stated deadline. These estimates are not calibrated odds.
Cheap energy and membranes make desalinated water plentiful.
Explore this milestone on the interactive mapWhat the forecast means
Milestone stage: milestone (legacy definition)
Completion criteria: Legacy milestone: refine the observable threshold before resolving.
This page describes a forecast, rather than an achieved result. Read the methodology and assumptions.
Built on
Led to
- Rivers restoredForecast · ~2062enables
- Seawater-irrigated cropsForecast · ~2063enables
- Depleted aquifers refilledForecast · ~2065enables
- Iceberg water supplyForecast · ~2072enables
- Greened desertsForecast · ~2078enables
- Continental water gridsForecast · ~2085enables
- Desert megacitiesForecast · ~2093enables
Sources & evidence
No individual source links are recorded for this milestone. Source coverage and review status vary across the atlas.
Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.