Desalination

In recent years, there have been many significant advances associated with desalination, making it a potentially viable future water resource. Several obstacles make it challenging, including the permitting process, environmental concerns (power generation, marine ecosystems and brine disposal), access to coastal property and existing treaties. Despite these challenges, desalination remains a long-term resource.

Due to the high cost of direct delivery of desalinated water to Nevada, exchanges with other Colorado River contractors in coastal areas of the U.S. or Mexico producing desalinated water will likely be the preferred method. These exchanges, however, will further increase Nevada's dependency on the ability to divert Colorado River water from Lake Mead. At the same time the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) continues to explore ways to diversify its water resource portfolio with other sources that don't depend on the Colorado River and Lake Mead for delivery.

Seawater Desalination

The SNWA continues to explore the feasibility of ocean desalination with other municipal Colorado River users within the United States and Mexico. Should Southern Nevada participate in the desalination process, any water obtained would most likely be in the form of an exchange, rather than a pipeline. For example, Southern Nevada could pay entities in California or Mexico to construct and operate desalination facilities in exchange for the ability to divert an equivalent portion of their Colorado River water at Lake Mead.

Brackish Water Desalination

The SNWA has entered into an agreement with municipal water agencies in the states of Arizona and California, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Colorado River Commission to fund and complete the Yuma Desalting Plant Pilot Run (YDP Pilot Run). The plant, located near Yuma, Arizona, is a brackish water reverse osmosis plant that was constructed to treat pumped brackish agricultural drainage water from the United States' lower Gila River Valley area.

Under the agreement, the Yuma Desalting Plant will be operated at one-third capacity for a total of one year to collect data on the viability of operating the plant at full capacity on a sustained basis. The YDP Pilot Run will increase storage in the Colorado River system and assist with meeting water-delivery obligations to Mexico. The YDP Pilot Run is scheduled to begin in the late spring of 2010.

The SNWA and the municipal water agencies will receive System Efficiency Intentionally Created Surplus credit equivalent to the amount of water produced and returned to the river in return for providing a portion of pilot-test funding. The SNWA and municipal agencies also will fund a portion of the costs for environmental monitoring associated with pilot operations.