This plant would desalinate seawater and the brine rejected from the desalination plant would be discharged in the Dead Sea to stem the drop in sea level. Such projects, however ingenious, are unlikely to provide major sources of new water supply. OECD countries are not running out of water, but supply problems are becoming more frequent. Global fresh water resources are likely to continue to suffer from waste and mismanagement due to excessively low prices, infrastructure deficiencies, and slow uptake of better technology. A key instrument for moving towards sustainable consumption would be to ensure that resources and ecosystems are given economic value and that external costs, such as those arising from pollution, are reflected in market prices.
Price reform is particularly attractive on economic grounds.
Tradeable rights are also a possible means of managing water resources, since it is argued that they would allow the price of water to reflect the value of its alternative uses, creating incentives to use it productively and cost-efficiently. For example, farmers selling at freely negotiated prices may have an incentive to improve their own water use efficiency in order to sell surpluses to cities, where the price is higher. However, such a system might be costly to set up and run. Laws would have to be changed, means of enforcing rights implemented, and perhaps new infrastructures built to carry water to potential customers. In any case, governments would still need to be involved in aspects such as quality standards or flood control.