Why desalination wont save states dependent on Colorado River water
Summary
Desalination plants are costly to operate, require enormous amounts of energy and are difficult to manage in an environmentally friendly way, according to water policy experts. The debate over whether desalination could be a solution for the drying Colorado River comes as a historic megadrought grips the western U.S., generating the driest two decades in the region in at least 1,200 years. The cost of desalinated water at Carlsbad is estimated at $2,725 an acre-foot, according to a recent analysis by environmental economist Michael Hanemann of Arizona State University. In fact, Arizona officials in December voted to advance the study of a $5 billion project led by an Israeli company to build a plant to desalinate seawater in Mexico and transport it in a pipeline that would cross through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The company leading that project said it would deliver up to 1 million acre-feet of water to Arizona, roughly the amount that the central and southern part of the state used from the Colorado River in 2022.