The removal of dissolved minerals (including salts) from seawater or brackish water. This may occur naturally as part of the hydrologic cycle, or as an engineered process. Engineered water desalination processes, which produce potable water from seawater or brackish water, have become important because many regions throughout the world suffer from water shortages caused by the uneven distribution of the natural water supply and by human use. The capacity of installed desalination plants around the world at the end of 1966 was 200,000 m3/day (53,000,000 gal/day); by 1998, it had increased to 22,700,000 m3/day (6000,000,000 gal/day).  See also: Water supply engineering