Desalination Technology in a Binational Context: Systemic Implications for Water, Society, Energy, and Environment in the Arizona-Sonora portion of the U.S.-Mexico Border

This paper examines existing and planned binational desalination technology in the Arizona-Sonora section of the U.S.-Mexico border within a broad systemic framework. Rather than a purely technical assessment, we analyze the social, economic, institutional, political, and environmental aspects of these desalination systems or proposals. The paper first examines the advance of desalination technology internationally with an overview of its associated benefits and challenges. The paper then discusses the context of desalination systems in the context of the Arizona-Sonora border. We consider two particular cases, the Yuma (Arizona) Desalting Plant, an inland, brackish water desalination plant, and two plans for seawater desalination plants (one for municipal use, one to serve binational needs for Arizona and Sonora) that have been proposed for Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. We examine the benefits and challenges associated with each plant or proposal in terms of its socioeconomic, institutional, and environmental impacts, including water-energy tradeoffs. The final section discusses the binational prospects and implications and provides specific policy recommendations. We argue that desalinatio