Water crisis averted…maybe?

“It’s a complicated project”.

This is how Chuck Podolak, the newly hired director of the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) (an independent agency established by the state legislature last year) described Arizona’s possible solution to its water crisis. The project would consist of a $5 billion desalination plant rooted in the city of Puerto Peñasco. Some of the treated water would go to the Sea of Cortez coastal towns, but most of it would be piped 200 miles north to the Phoenix area. 

Arizona recently declared the water crisis as a Tier 2A Shortage, which represents a 592,000 acre-foot reduction to the state’s Colorado River supply. This is equivalent to 21% of Arizona’s Colorado River supply and about 9% of Arizona’s total water use. It is something to be concerned about. There have been multiple measures taken to figure out what can be done to save water, especially among the Colorado River Basin states. The plans for this specific project consist of a desalination plant in Puerto PeNasco, and then four pumps (powered by solar power and battery) on the Mexican side of the border would push the water uphill to Arizona, An on-site reservoir would store four days of water for customers and include a tie- in to the Central Arizona Project.  

This specific project has received a lot of controversial attention. Sonora Governor Alfons Duranzo appeared to be in support of the project, and then turned around and shared, “I am going to defend the interests of Sonorans. That is my responsibility,” claiming that he believes the plans are “utter absurdity.” All the while Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has expressed support for the plans.