'The salt they pump back in kills everything': is the cost of Chile's fresh water too high?

[Judi Lynn]

Antofagasta, situated on the edge of the Atacama Desert, relies on a vast desalination plant which provides the city with drinking water – but the waste brine is killing wildlife, say fishermen

John Bartlett in Antofagasta
Thu 2 Jan 2020 02.00 EST
Last modified on Thu 2 Jan 2020 02.06 EST

As Eduardo Muñoz drifts his ageing skiff into Antofagasta’s harbour, flecks of paint peeling from its prow, he looks disconsolate.

“I used to get twice as many clams from every dive,” he mutters bitterly, hauling two large sacks of shellfish on to the dock and ruffling the salt from his hair.

“Since desalination began a few years back I’ve hardly had any luck,” he says. “The salt they pump back into the sea kills everything, and there’s just a thick layer of sludge on the sea bed now.”

Muñoz lives and dives in La Chimba, a dilapidated seaside suburb of Antofagasta, a city of 360,000 people on Chile’s arid northern plains and the largest settlement in the Atacama Desert – the driest place on Earth.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2020/jan/02/the-salt-they-pump-back-in-kills-everything-is-the-cost-of-chiles-fresh-water-too-high

[Lulu KC]

1. Sad but good to know

Chile is also having coastal water quality issues because of their salmon farming practices.