
Why desalination won't solve Baja California's water woes

Severe drought in the US southwest is affecting northern Mexican states like Baja California, which depends on water it receives from the Colorado basin under a 1944 treaty.
Rather than building a desalination plant, as authorities proposed, Alfonso Cortez, an environmental researcher at Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Mexicali, suggests measures to produce a surplus, including treatment plants.
“[Desalination] is three or four times more expensive than using treated water or regulating extraction from aquifers. There is also an irrigation system whose water use should be optimized. Why is a desalination plant more expensive than those options? Because it consumes a lot of energy and pollutes the environment,” he told BNamericas.
The US recently cut 51Mm3 (million cubic meters) from Mexico’s allotment this year, equivalent to the amount of liquid used by Mexicali’s water system in a year, Cortez said. The possibility of cuts has been added to the treaty amid the recurrent droughts in the region.
Cortez, who in March 2020 participated in a study that led to the cancellation of the US$1.4bn Constellation Brands brewery, also said private entities must be part of the solution, but their primary focus should be environmental, economic, and social issues.
“One cannot use different arguments to support different projects. On the one hand, they said there was a lot of water, so they were going to build the [brewery] in the desert. On the other hand, they said there was no water, therefore they were going to build a desalination plant. They should not build projects that consume an enormous amount of water and create very little employment for the area,” he said.
Cortez said US investments are flowing into irrigation district 014 to help reduce treaty water consumption. He claimed that if investors from Tijuana would also step up, a water surplus of up to 100Mm3 a year could be created.
Subscribe to the most trusted business intelligence platform in Latin America. Let us show you our solutions for Suppliers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance.
News in: Water & Waste

Rio Grande do Sul sets date and price to privatize water utility
The Brazilian state is looking to raise at least 4.1bn reais with the privatization of Corsan.

Why Brazil's BNDES is 'very welcome' to finance sanitation projects
Percy Soares Neto, head of water and sewerage services concessionaires association Abcon, tells to BNamericas why private and public financing aren...
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Water & Waste
Get critical information about thousands of Water & Waste projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: Execution of works to improve the water service of the irrigation system of the canal in the Santa Elena - San Francisco sector, town of Pueblo Nuevo de Colan - Paita - Piura
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 months ago
- Project: Rehabilitation of the channel of the malacasi irrigation subsector, district of salitral, province of morropon, department of piura
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 months ago
- Project: Improvement of the water supply service for irrigation in the seccna sector, community of sacsamarca of the district of sacsamarca - province of huanca sancos - department of ayacucho
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 months ago
- Project: Rehabilitation of the Arahuay irrigation canal in the Copa and Collana communities of the Arahuay district, Canta province, Lima region
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 months ago
- Project: Work: improvement of the pluvial drainage of the Villarreal de Talara school and protection of the blocks and houses involved - Talara
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 months ago
- Project: Contracting for the execution of works: creation of a water supply service for irrigation in 12 towns in the district of Huacrachuco-province of Marañón-department of Huanuco.
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 months ago
- Project: Contract for the execution of works for the project to improve the water service for irrigation of the Bernales canal in the Humay district - Pisco province, Ica department
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 months ago
Other companies in: Water & Waste (United States)
Get critical information about thousands of Water & Waste companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: The Berger Group Holdings, Inc.  (Louis Berger)
-
Louis Berger, a subsidiary of WSP since 2018, is an engineering and professional services company with a presence in over 50 countries. The company provides alternative project ...
- Company: Dar Al-Handasah (Shair and Partners)
- Company: Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
- Company: Servicios de Agua Trident, S.A. de C.V.  (Servicios de Agua Trident)
-
Servicios de Agua Trident, S.A. de C.V. (SAT) is a Mexican investment firm and subsidiary of energy-focused conglomerate Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Together with ICA subsidiary Controla...