Can Seawater Be Made Drinkable?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner has made this dilemma well known for centuries with a few words: “Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink”—a line that refers to the non-drinkability of ocean water. With potable water becoming increasingly scarce all over the world, a lot of people are now looking to the oceans as sources. But the question is, can seawater be really made drinkable?