By volume, the Yuma Desalting Plant is one of the largest in the United States.
Completed in 1992, the plant is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation with the capacity to filter 73 million gallons of water per day.
It's only been used twice.
To understand why you have to go back to 1944.
In February of that year, the U.S. and Mexico signed a treaty that dictated Mexico was entitled to 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water since that is where it actually ends.
The Yuma plant was supposed to be part of the solution.
If the U.S. could not meet its obligation, the plant would make up the difference by cleaning some of the brackish return flows and deliver useable water to Mexico.
"As a last case, last ditch effort in case all other avenues don't work," Norris said.
Construction began in 1977 at a cost of $250 million. With inflation, the cost would be just over $1 billion in today's currency.
During the 15 years that the plant was under construction, the salty water needed somewhere to go, other than the river.
The Wellton Mohawk canal near Yuma was extended to divert the unusable water away from the Colorado.
The endpoint of the canal accidentally created Cienega de Santa Clara, a 15,000-acre-foot wetland in Mexico.
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Coastie Patriot
SIC SEMPER TYRRANIS
THE SAME PEOPLE WHO SAID NO GUNS BECAUSE OF POLICE NOW WANT TO DEFUND THE POLICE!!!!
Dr Thaddeus They
They don't really care whether the truth gets out, because the public no longer knows what's meant by "the truth."
Well, I mean, no one can tell the difference anymore between what's real and what's fake.
Anyway, the point is, I can tell you all of this, right out in the open, because it doesn't matter who knows about it. They won't know whether to believe it or not.-
X Files: Lost art of Forehead Sweat
A gun is a tool, Marion, no better or no worse than any other tool, an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.
-SHANE-
Jefferson Smith: You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be men they forget even more. Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that . - MR Smith Goes To Washington-
to grow up remembering th
My oath to support and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic has no expiration date!!!
Ten Bears : It's sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. Outlaw Josey Wales
United States
