Common Mistakes and Lessons in Desalination Projects
The people who most need to hear these lessons are rarely in the room.
At the Valencia Desalination Tech Expo, I had the privilege of moderating one of the talks that stayed with me long after the stage lights went off.
Not because it was flashy or optimistic, but precisely because it was uncomfortable, precise, and painfully familiar.
From my seat on stage, just a few meters away, I could not stop listening to Paul Buijs, founder of 1st:water.
As he spoke, I found myself having one aha moment after another.
He was not describing abstract failures or distant case studies; he was describing situations I am facing today, projects many of us have lived through, and mistakes our industry continues to repeat.
What struck me first was his opening observation:
the people who most need to hear these lessons are rarely in the room.
Your competitors, your clients, your end-users…, they are out there, making the same mistakes—over and over again.
The ones who already understand the risks keep attending those places where knowledge is exchanged (events, conferences, The Water MBA…), while those who should learn from past failures remain absent.
Paul has spent more than 35 years in water, spanning industry and academia.
His message was not about innovation for innovation’s sake, but about accountability.
Mistakes in desalination are not academic—they are extraordinarily expensive.
So let’s put a few examples: