The Answer For Arizona’s Drought Has Been Found!

Arizona is running out of water. Being located in the middle of an arid desert didn't help much, but the kicker has been the droves of people moving to the state recently.

The state already has a limited water supply, what with the lack of rain and any other naturally occurring water, and the need for fresh water is becoming more and more dire.

Taking the Salt Out of Salt Water

Located just outside of San Diego lies what used to be an abandoned power plant. These days, it's home to the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, a massive sprawl of machinery and pipes built into the Pacific Ocean (or rather, a lagoon connected to the Pacific).

The plant sucks up the salt water from the ocean, filters out sand, fish, or other debris, removes the salt, and spits out perfectly clean fresh water. For every two gallons of salt water taken in, one gallon of freshwater is produced.

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Can This Save Arizona?

Great! A way to reliably circulate fresh water across the state! Only problem, San Diego isn't exactly an Arizona city. The initial goal is to build a pipeline from this facility, across the Sonoran desert, and into Arizona.

If that plan doesn't pan out, the next goal is to build a new facility on the Mexican coast, gift it to the nation, and have them pull out of their claim to Colorado River water.

Both of these are viable options, but are incredibly expensive. The bill needed to build and connect a pipeline from San Diego runs well over $1 Billion, while water from the Colorado River costs about $4,500 per acre-foot, which again, isn't good.

The good news is, we have an answer. An expensive answer, sure, but an answer nonetheless. Now, it's up to Arizona to move forward and make water scarcity a thing of the past!

[NBC12]