In April 2022, AZPM reported on doubts about Governor Doug Ducey's plan to ease Arizona's water problems with desalinated seawater from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez). Ducey had proposed a $1 billion scheme to deliver water as far as Morelos Dam near Yuma. Andrea Achilli, a University of Arizona professor, saw transport as the real hurdle, with a pipeline accounting for almost half the construction cost. Other experts expected more than ten years before operation and $60 million a year in running costs.
The report showed that for desalination serving an inland state, conveying the water decided cost and feasibility more than treatment itself. According to Achilli, the plan would have done little for agriculture.
Source: AZPM