Large-Scale Desalination Could Help Offset Colorado River Water Shortage

The operating agreements that govern Colorado River allocations expire at the end of this year, and negotiations between the seven states that share the water are stalled. With the federal government poised to step in and impose an agreement it formulates, the states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming in the upper basin, and Arizona, California, and Nevada in the lower basin — have asked for more time.

Whether or not the ongoing drought on the Colorado watershed will pass, or is a permanent feature of climate change, the problem is real and acute. During the 20th century, the Colorado River delivered to its lower basin states an average flow of 14.6 million acre feet per year. At the dawn of the 21st century, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, two of the largest reservoirs in the world, were close to full, together storing over 50 million acre feet.