Rep. Andy Biggs says he wants to get Yuma's dormant desalination plant back up and running

Andy Biggs, Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate, says he wants to get Arizona’s desalination plant in Yuma up and running.

Arizona has a desalination plant sitting in Yuma that was completed in 1992 and designed to turn salty agricultural runoff into clean water, but the plant has only been used twice since then and is currently dormant.

Biggs discussed water issues with state GOP lawmakers at the Arizona Capitol on Friday and said he wants to apply for federal funding for the facility.

“When I talked to the Bureau of Reclamation, they told me that we should apply for a grant. And we think it's going to be pretty expensive, but there is some money there. If we can get that grant, we could actually get the desalt facility up and running,” Biggs said.

There are a few reasons why the Yuma Desalting Plant is closed. A water surplus rendered it unnecessary in the eyes of the government nearly 35 years ago.

Now, it would cost tens of millions of dollars to upgrade, and many millions more to actually operate the plant.

Diverted runoff from the plant’s construction also accidentally created an enormous wetland called the Cienega de Santa Clara, which is now a protected area. So, restarting the plant could disrupt the ecosystem and cause a legal issue.

Desalination is an idea Arizona officials have bandied about for years. The state Water Infrastructure Finance Authority is currently exploring the feasibility of investing in a new desal plant in either California or Mexico to augment the state’s water supply.

Biggs said he also spoke with state lawmakers about ongoing Colorado River negotiations and the possibility of adding more storage for river water and building more dams.

As far as how Colorado River talks are going, Biggs said there’s no good news.

“I'm not going to mince words,” he said.

Biggs did say he is working across the aisle with Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly to get some traction on the river talks. They urged U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to withdraw a recent draft environmental impact statement that lays out the details of how certain cuts could affect the states. The statement wasn’t very favorable toward Arizona.