Desalting plant again idle

The Yuma Desalting Plant is quiet once again. Its 90-day demonstration run to reduce salinity in water returned to the Colorado River ended at midnight Thursday.

It was the first time in 14 years the $245 million plant had operated - and its output has exceeded federal officials' expectations.

Jim Cherry, Bureau of Reclamation manager in Yuma, said the plant ran "wonderfully."

"We had anticipated a little less than 3,000-acre-feet (one acre-foot is 325,851 gallons) and we got a little over 4,000 sent back to the river," he said.

That means more than 1.3 billion gallons of water flowed to the river during the last three months.

Cherry said it would take at least 30 days to determine the cost of the test run because it will take a few weeks to clean up the pumps and motors and try to salvage the 2,000 membranes used to filter the water in the treatment process.

The test run of 10 percent of the plant's capacity was to demonstrate whether it could still function, to determine the cost of operation and to try new technology.

"The whole program has been a success," Cherry said. "After being called a white elephant in national media, it's nice to see the plant in action and that it can serve the purpose it was designed for."

He added the incorporation of new technology was also successful.

Officials are considering other options for the treated water such as marketing the potable water.

Turning off the pumps and shutting down the flow of water was a bittersweet moment for the local reclamation staff.

"It's tough to shut it down," Cherry said. "We squeezed every drop we could."

But on the other hand, Cherry said, the demonstration served its purpose.

"It gives us data and information so decisions can be made by the policymakers," he said. "We didn't have that before."

The plant was constructed in the 1980s and early 1990s to desalinate water as part of a treaty with Mexico. The plant had only run during a six-month test period in 1992-93. Since then, the U.S. has been able to meet its treaty obligations without running the plant because of increased river flows.

However, persistent drought has led many to advocate activating the plant to help meet water needs in the Southwest.

---

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.