I happened upon a list of water sources for Los Angeles a couple of years ago that listed the energy requirement for each source. It ranged from minimal to mayb

I happened upon a list of water sources for Los Angeles a couple of years ago that listed the energy requirement for each source. It ranged from minimal to maybe half the amount required to desalinate water. That points to you being right that desalinization is cheaper than trying to tap new sources of fresh water.