Arizona’s salty solution for its water future

[00:00:04]Will Arizona's water future be salty?

[00:00:06]I'm Adam Klap looking into a new partnership between the state of California and Arizona to increase desalination projects on the California coast.

[00:00:15]The Colorado River still rushes through Arizona, cutting natural marvels like Horseshoe Bend and the Grand Canyon over millions of years. Today, it faces one of its toughest challenges yet.

[00:00:26]>> On the Colorado River, we've been in a 26-year drought exacerbated by climate change. Our river is 20% smaller than it was just 25 years ago.

[00:00:35]>> That decline has desert states like ours trying to save every drop, but Central Arizona Project Leader Brenda Berman says conservation alone won't secure our water future.

[00:00:44]>> Uh we need to be looking at innovative ways to move water across country lines, across state lines.

[00:00:51]>> One of those potential innovations sits on the Pacific Ocean at a desalination plant in Carlsbad, California.

[00:00:57]>> What we have is a 56,000 acre-foot desalinization plant. We have the ability to expand it another 6,000 acre-feet. [applause] >> In this week, Berman and Arizona's director of water resources met there to sign a memorandum of understanding with California committing to work together on creating rules to trade water.

[00:01:19]>> And this is something that's never been done before.

[00:01:21]>> The plan doesn't involve building a pipe from California to Arizona. Instead, we would help pay for the San Diego County Water Authority to increase their total output of desalinized water.

[00:01:33]>> And that would allow the water users who take off from the Colorado River to take less. And then Arizona parties could take the Colorado River water.

[00:01:43]>> While this water costs significantly more, water leaders say the cost of not acting could mean a bone-dry future.

[00:01:50]>> Your alternative is to not invest and not have water.

[00:01:54]>> With record low winter runoffs and looming deep cuts, The clock is ticking.

[00:01:58]>> I don't know that hydrology is going to wait for us, so let's hope that we can get it done um in this water year and um make it happen to set something up long-term.

[00:02:08]>> There still is no plan on how the shrinking Colorado River will be shared beyond October 1st of this year. The federal government is expected to announce that plan at some point this summer. Adam Klet ABC 15 Arizona.