Since it was built in 1977, the Yuma Desalting Plant (YDP) has loomed as the primary threat to the Cienega de Santa Clara, a 14,000-acre wetland in the Colordo River delta that survives on agricultural runoff from the US. Now the Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec) is preparing a report to Congress, nearly two years overdue, regarding the fate of the desalting plant and, with it, the fate of the cienega.
The YDP has never been used due to high operating costs. Were it to be fired up, it would use and divert all the water that currently feeds the cienega. Presently, the costs are still too high to justify operation, even with the intense demand for water in the basin. BuRec itself estimates that desalting water at the YDP would cost an estimated $318 to $463 per acre foot. By comparison, subsidized farmers in the area pay as little as $3.50 per acre foot and most municipalities pay less than $70 per acre foot.
The first draft of BuRec's report recommends that the cienega's water be offset at this time with such options as: "leasing water from willing sellers, investing in advanced irrigation techniques to reduce use, or obtaining non-systems supplies from groundwater and other sources." Although fiscal concerns are the paramount reason for the recommendation, Living Rivers and other advocates have made the cienega enough of an issue that its survival is noted as a benefit to keeping the YDP mothballed. Living Rivers is also pointing out that decommissioning the plant altogether could save taxpayers an additional $5 million annually. BuRec is planning to incorporate this input into the next draft of its report.
