Arizona wants to import water from the Sea of ​​Cortez into Mexico.  But how well would that really work?

Arizona believes desalination will provide the water it needs. It will not be

Robert Glennon and Brent M. Haddad

Arizona wants to import water from the Sea of ​​Cortez into Mexico.  But how well would that really work?

The lure of seawater desalination seems irresistible.

All that seawater just waiting to be salted and delivered to your tap. It can be done, but there are three obstacles:

  • It’s expensive.
  • It’s energy-intensive.
  • And this creates a need to get rid of the remaining salt.

Governor Doug Ducey’s State of the State Address in January, followed by the signing into law of Senate Bill 1740 in July, pledges more than $1 billion over three years to bring more water to the ‘Arizona.

The cornerstone is a proposal to desalinate water from the Sea of ​​Cortez in Mexico. Construction cost estimates for this project range from $3 billion to $4 billion. That’s a lot of money — more than Arizona contributed to fund the Central Arizona project. Yet the estimates grossly underestimate the state’s ultimate responsibilities.

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