Southern Nevada is now looking to the Pacific Ocean to ease its water woes. In a vote Thursday, the Southern Nevada Water Authority board approved a memorandum of understanding that allows General Manager John Entsminger to hammer out a first-of-its-kind water transfer deal with the San Diego County Water Authority. In a region where growth could outpace permanent water supplies in the next few decades, that matters. The terms are far from certain. But California would leave water in Lake Mead that Nevada could use in exchange for compensation; California would fill that gap with ocean water treated by the Carlsbad Desalination Plant. … [I]f a contract materialized, it could revolutionize what water managers thought was possible, effectively adding permanent water to an arid region’s portfolio.

Other desalination news:

• Monterey County Now (Seaside, Calif.): Opinion: Cal Am proves yet again it is driven by investor benefit, not public interest