Yuma’s Desalination Plant
Caleb Bradshaw
Desalination Plants in General
• There are over 4,000
plants around the world
• Approximately 800 are
located in the U.S.
(mostly in Florida,
California, and other
coastal states)
• These plants combined
can produce over 3,500
million gallons a day
The 2 Main Desalination Processes
• Electrodialysis
– Uses a series of membranes
– Has great electrical energy
costs
• Reverse Osmosis
– Uses membranes
– The most efficient means of
desalination
The Plant in Yuma
• 1944- Mexico is allotted approximately
10% of the Colorado’s water
• 1961- Welton farmer discover an
underground saline aquifer, and proceed
to drain it into the Gila River
• Mexico’s crops cannot grow
because the water is too
salty
• To resolve the problem, the U.S. decides
to build a plant in Yuma
• A canal will be constructed to drain water
from Welton to the Sea of Cortez until the
plant is build
Cienega de Santa Clara
• The canal stopped short of the sea
• Formed a 15,000 acre wetlands
• Home to plants, animals, a small economy
The Plant Finished
• In 1992, the plant was completed ($250
million)
• It only ran for 9 months before it was shut
down
– A canal draining water from Welton to the
plant was flooded
– The Cienega began to disappear
Increasing Drought
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•
•
•
In March, the plant was restarted at 10%
90-day trial period
Trying to preserve the Cienega
Experimenting with desalting local ground
water, and water from other locations
• Time will tell