plantagenet,
You're conflating two different electrodesalination technologies.

CDI is a newer technology that has great potential once the technical problems are overcome.
ED is an older technology that works well for desalinating brackish water but is not cost effective for desalinating seawater.

Australia is a very dry continent with erratic rainfall and a limited carrying capacity. Instead of living within that capacity, we've flogged off rural and urban water to market interests, continue with reckless high population growth, and trust to "drought-proofing" schemes. You can't drink GDP.

There seems to be a mental blockage in all politicians and also some
on this site.
There is an unrecognised problem.
Politicians are increasing our population without realising one fact;
Our population has to be small enough to survive a 10 year drought.
A drought such as we are having now !
No rain, little food, no money for electricity for desal plants.
No water will stop coal mining also.

I suspect that our population has already peaked and we should be
encouraging emigration.

Flood Lake Eyre permanently & the problems will be history !

We can do a great deal to help personally.

I am dependent on tank water for all domestic water, & for car washing. My dam water has too much silt in it to get cars clean, but is fine for stock to drink.

Despite this year being the 3Rd driest year on record around here since 1889, my tank supply has not run out. My home is reasonably large, but not exceptionally so, thus anyone in South East Queensland should have been able to supply their own domestic water for the average family, with suitable tankage, & a little care in their usage.

Yes some neighbors are buying a 3000 gallon tanker load of water a month. They are mostly tree change folk, with city water use habits. Some will learn, some may find city life more to their liking. Some who have had dams & bores go dry are having to buy in potable water to supply their stock, which must be expensive.

However if most city folk lived on the water off their roof as we do, our water supply would go a lot further.

nuclear powered desalination on the coastline could kill two birds with one stone.
plantagenet,
Not quite that simple I'm afraid. We must not overlook the massive chemical outfall of massive desalination.
We might kill the two birds but we'd still be creating a third problem.