| Summary: | Caribbean islands are particularly vulnerable to extreme events like droughts, co-occurring with
groundwater pollution, water inequalities, and weak governance. Consequently, many island communities that rely
on tourism are experiencing ongoing and deepening water crises. Technical solutions like desalination are regularly
employed throughout the Caribbean, yet water crises persist despite these mitigation strategies. This research
focuses on San Andrés, a Colombian Caribbean Island. Following the 2016 water crisis, residents saw the crisis as
social: pre-existing social inequalities led to differential water access, quantity, and distribution during the crisis. In
contrast, organisational leaders attributed the water crisis to a natural hazard (drought or, more broadly, climate
change), even if they recognised disproportional distribution. Interviews revealed strong support from all
participants for the use of desalination to address the crisis, despite the inequities that characterise the
implementation of this strategy. We argue that San Andrés is moving towards technological water dependence,
disconnected from traditional local forms of collecting water and rendering islanders less able to control the
resource. We posit that there is a connection between injustice, desalination, and water crises. When a water crisis
occurs, it often reveals pre-existing injustices in the social system. Instead of resolving the injustices, desalination,
which is often seen as the main solution to the crisis, perpetuates and reinforces them. The result is a cycle of crises
that persist over time.
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