The non-profit Arizona-Mexico Commission, a trade and business group is proposing a study on the feasibility of a jointly operated U.S.-Mexico desalination plant at Puerto Penasco ("Rocky Point") on the Gulf of California.
According to a story in today's Arizona Republic, the "study will look at a range of issues, including cost, funding sources, energy needs and environmental effects on the gulf. Its findings could point toward a joint project with Mexico or to some other alternative. The major players so far are Puerto Peñasco; the states of Arizona and Sonora; and Arizona's two largest water providers: Central Arizona Project and Salt River Project."
The proposed study would examine the challenges of building a plant to handle 11.4 million gallons a day at the start and up to 45.6 million gallons a day by 2020, enough water to serve at least 250,000 people a year.
A desal plant planned near Huntington Beach, Calif., that could produce up to 50 million gallons of drinking water a day will cost an estimated $250 million to build. There are no explanations of who would pay for the Puerto Penasco plant.