SONORA, Mexico — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
An Arizona board charged with financing water projects has been pushing a costly plan to pipe potable seawater over 200 miles.
That project hit a major road bump on Tuesday after Sonora, Mexico's government, which controls the land a proposed desalination plant would sit on, claimed the company in charge of building the project had a "lack of ethics."
The government's Twitter account wrote it would no longer "deal with" the Israel-based desalination firm IDE Technologies after the company allegedly attempted to convert a courtesy meeting into a water purchase negotiation. Afterwards, IDE reportedly touted the meeting as a negotiation on behalf of getting water to Arizona.
The claim was backed up by Sonroa's Gov. Alfonso Durazo during a livestreamed press conference on the same day.
"At no time was there any talk about the supply of desalination to supply water to Arizona," Durazo said. "At no time at all."
The incident looks to have halted all communication between the state's government and the desalination company while casting doubt on the possibility of a desalination plant for Arizona.
Durazo's specific comments on the desalination plant happen at ~51:05 in the livestream.
The board, named Arizona's Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA), was created by former Gov. Doug Ducey with the sole purpose of funding innovative water solutions amid the ongoing megadrought.
WIFA came under fire in late 2022 when it attempted to fast-track the desalination plant deal without holding public comment. The "rushed movement" was criticized by numerous state lawmakers. After the outcry, the board voted to continue the desalination proposal's evaluation rather than rushing the funding.
12News reached out to WIFA for comment on how Durazo's comments affect the desalination proposal. The board has not returned our request for comment.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: WIFA may fast-track desalination plant, 'large expenditure of taxpayer dollars' without public comment, lawmakers say
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