State water officials are warning that Arizona must start looking into other drinking water sources or face a crisis as soon as 25 years from now, AP reports.
A report from the Arizona Department of Water Resources predicts water shortfalls of up to 900,000 acre-feet a year by 2050 as the population grows. That’s more than 293 billion gallons.
The agency advises several possible solutions, including building a water desalination plant, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Such an endeavor could take decades. According to the report, designing and constructing a plant to separate salt from sea water could take as long as 20 years. While it could be expensive, the report notes that desalination costs have dropped because of better technology.
