The Colorado River’s desalination plant is on its last legs

The obscure Paradox Valley Unit keeps the Colorado River’s salinity levels in check for farmers, but causes quakes upstream.

  • Paradox Valley Unit Facility operations specialist Andy Nicholas at the Paradox Valley injection well, which shoots salty brine 14,000 feet beneath the Dolores River.

    Stephen Elliott
 

The Paradox Valley in western Colorado got its name because the Dolores River bisects it, rather than running through it in the normal topographical fashion. The landscape is short on people, long on sagebrush and probably best known for the dramatic red cliffs that loom over travelers making the long drive from Telluride, Colorado, to Moab, Utah. This remote valley was formed millions of years ago, when a huge dome of salt collapsed. Now, that salt remains, buried just within the earth, and as a white, crystalline blanket atop the red soil.

And that’s a problem. The waters of the Dolores pick up that salt and carry it to the Colorado River, where it eventually degrades the water quality for downstream cities and farmers. For about a quarter century, however, an unassuming facility has been tackling this salt. Every minute, in fact, the Paradox Valley Unit sucks nearly 200 gallons of brine, which is seven times saltier than ocean water, from wells here, then shoots it 14,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface, in order to keep it out of the river. It’s perhaps the most critical piece of a massive project designed to keep salt out of the Colorado River, but it’s in trouble. The facility itself is near the end of its lifespan, and there is no obvious replacement. Not only that: The re-injection process can cause earthquakes.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation operates the Paradox Valley Unit under the auspices of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program, which was created by Congress in 1974. At the time, the river was highly saline once it reached Mexico, thanks to a combination of natural loading and upstream irrigation. That risked violating a U.S. water treaty with Mexico, and it also had what retired hydrologist Dan Luecke, a former consultant for the Justice Department and several environmental organizations, calls “adverse effects” on agriculture, on water treatment in urban areas and on the environment.  Salty water reduces crop yields when it’s used for irrigation on the 5 million acres of farmland along the Colorado, and it mucks up water treatment plants in the municipalities, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, that rely on the river.

The Paradox unit began operating in 1991. Since then, it’s kept some 2.6 million tons of salt out of the river, making it by far the most productive of the dozens of the salinity control program’s projects in the watershed.

The locals, however, are paying for the downstreamers’ gains. Since injection began, approximately 6,000 earthquakes have shaken the valley, where previously seismic activity had been virtually unknown. Scientists generally agree that the tremors are caused by the deep injection at the facility, much as wastewater injection wells are causing quakes in oil and gas fields in Oklahoma and elsewhere.

Though the quakes are relatively minor, about 100 have been above the threshold for human detection. There have been no official reports of damage, but one local farmer said that the last significant earthquake, a 4.4-magnitude event in January 2013, broke a dam and caused a creek to flood; his wife thought a truck had crashed into their home. After that episode, operators reduced brine injection pressures and volumes. Since then, the tremors have calmed a bit.

Meanwhile, the facility is facing its own existential crisis. The injection well deposits the salty brine about 2.5 miles down into the Mississippian Leadville formation, in a space that will eventually fill up, rendering the facility useless. Officials aren’t sure how long they have, but Andy Nicholas, facility operations specialist, estimates about 10 years, 20 tops.

So the Bureau of Reclamation is scrambling for another way to get the salt out. Either a second well could be drilled, risking more tremors, or the salt could be disposed of in vast evaporation ponds. Both options have their drawbacks, including expense and the lack of available land nearby. An environmental impact study is underway to review alternatives, but it could take several more years.

Without the unit’s deep injection, the salt that covers the desert valley floor at Paradox, and the thousands of tons of it just beneath the surface, will continue to flow to the Colorado River and its millions of downstream users. Each ton of salt in the river causes $173 in damage to crops, water treatment facilities and the like, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. That puts the price tag for going without the Paradox unit at around $457 $19 million annually, and that doesn’t account for the damage done to fish, bugs and other aquatic life. As Luecke says, something has to be done: “It’s important that that salt be taken out.”

High Country News Classifieds
  • INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS EDITOR - HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
    High Country News is hiring an Indigenous Affairs Editor to help guide the magazine's journalism and produce stories that are important to Indigenous communities and...
  • STAFF ATTORNEY
    Staff Attorney The role of the Staff Attorney is to bring litigation on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, and at times our allies, in the...
  • ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
    Northern Michigan University seeks an outstanding leader to serve as its next Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. With new NMU President Dr. Brock...
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Clark Fork Coalition seeks an exceptional leader to serve as its Executive Director. This position provides strategic vision and operational management while leading a...
  • GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT MANAGER
    Help uphold a groundbreaking legal agreement between a powerful mining corporation and the local communities impacted by the platinum and palladium mine in their backyard....
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Feather River Land Trust (FRLT) is seeking a strategic and dynamic leader to advance our mission to "conserve the lands and waters of the...
  • COLORADO DIRECTOR
    COLORADO DIRECTOR Western Watersheds Project seeks a Colorado Director to continue and expand WWP's campaign to protect and restore public lands and wildlife in Colorado,...
  • DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: WYOMING, MONTANA AND UTAH
    Digital Media Specialist - WY, MT, UT OFFICE LOCATION Remote and hybrid options available. Preferred locations are MT, WY or UT, but applicants from anywhere...
  • GRANT WRITER (PART-TIME, FREELANCE CONTRACT) HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
    High Country News seeks an energetic, articulate and highly organized grant writer to support a growing foundations program. This position works closely with our Executive...
  • EXPERT COMPUTER & TECH HELP, PROVIDED REMOTELY
    From California, I provide expert tech help remotely to rural and urban clients. I charge only when I succeed. Available 7 days. Call for a...
  • ACCOUNTING AND OPERATIONS GENERALIST
    What We Can Achieve Together: The Accounting and Operations Generalist provides accounting and operations related services, including lease administration and compliance support, to the Arizona...
  • LANDSCAPE ECOLOGIST
    Landscape Ecologist, Arizona What We Can Achieve Together: The Landscape Ecologist provides technical and scientific support and leadership for conservation initiatives and strategies in landscape...
  • MULESHOE RANCH PRESERVE STEWARD
    What We Can Achieve Together: The Muleshoe Ranch Preserve Steward lives on site in housing provided by The Nature Conservancy and performs and coordinates construction...
  • ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY - INDIGENOUS HISTORIES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WEST
    Whitman College seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in Indigenous Histories of the North American West, beginning August 2024, at the rank of Assistant Professor....
  • DAVE AND ME
    Dave and Me, by international racontuer and children's books author Rusty Austin, is a funny, profane and intense collection of short stories, essays, and poems...
  • CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
    Rural Community Assistance Corporation is looking to hire a CFO. For more more information visit: https://www.rcac.org/careers/
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation (ABWF) seeks a new Executive Director. Founded in 2008, the ABWF is a respected nonprofit whose mission is to support...
  • CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE
    Field seminars for adults in natural and human history of the northern Colorado Plateau, with lodge and base camp options. Small groups, guest experts.
  • COMING TO TUCSON?
    Popular vacation house, everything furnished. Two bedroom, one bath, large enclosed yards. Dog-friendly. Contact Lee at [email protected] or 520-791-9246.
  • ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION GEOPHYSICS
    We characterize contaminated sites, identify buried drums, tanks, debris and also locate groundwater.