LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Arizona water situation

Excellent reporting by Tony Davis in Sunday's cover story regarding Arizona's water woes.

Long term, I'm a fan of building desalination plants at the north end of the Sea of Cortez and sending the resulting fresh water up to Lake Havasu to recharge the Central Arizona Project's canals. But that requires pumping water uphill for 200 miles across an international border and through occasionally rough terrain. That's not impossible, but it cannot be done quickly.

On the other hand, coastal California has huge demands for residential, industrial, and agricultural water just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Let's make a deal! Arizona would pay for new desalination plants along the West Coast, delivering fresh water to Californians for free. As those plants come online, California would transfer Colorado River water rights to Arizona, gallon-for-gallon. We could continue to use existing infrastructure without digging new tunnels or canals.

Desalination plants are a mature, well-understood technology that can be operated with minimal environmental impact. If we can thrash our way through the paperwork, a desalination deal with California could be the quickest solution to Arizona's water supply challenges, and a win-win for both states.

Stephen Fleming

Midtown