A board that oversees Arizona's water supply this week passed a nonbinding resolution in support of a plan to pump water from Mexico to help alleviate the state's ongoing drought.
The Israeli water treatment company IDE Technologies submitted the proposal to the board of the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona to either replace or provide an additional source to the Colorado River. The plan would desalinate water from the Sea of Cortez and pump it up to Arizona through the Central Arizona Project's canal.
The plan would require consent from Mexico, and IDE Technologies said it has already discussed the matter with the governor of the Mexican state of Sonora. However, some in Arizona have raised concerns about the deal.
Arizona state Sen. Lisa Otondo, a Democrat, questioned how quickly the proposal appeared before the board and noted that the commitment legislators made earlier this year included assurances that no particular project would get a "rubber stamp."
Otondo said during the board's meeting on Tuesday, "I'm sorry, but this reeks of backroom deals."
A spokesperson for GOP Gov. Doug Ducey said, "Arizona is facing a water emergency. We are in a dire situation."
He notes that San Diego County's water supply comes from an IDE Technologies desalination plant, and that its technology also helped produced the fresh grass used on the fields of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
"It's not only a game-changing amount of water. It's a game-changing approach," the spokesperson said. "It is very good news indeed that a company that has the track record that IDE apparently has is interested in coming here and taking this on."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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