Following Arizona leaders approving a more than $1 billion investment into new water infrastructure, a new poll finds that Arizonans overwhelmingly support talks of a potential desalination plant.

According to the poll by Alloy Analytics, 74% of likely voters in Arizona support the desalination plant efforts.


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“The support for a significant investment in a desalination plant has staunch support among likely voters in Arizona,” said data analytics and polling expert Landon Wall, owner of Alloy Analytics. “It is rare to see an issue where voters across all parties are willing to pay more to find a high-quality solution. Voters on both sides of the aisle clearly understand the importance of securing Arizona’s water future.”

Wall added that support for a desalination plant remains at 63% despite voters being informed that construction could be expensive – between $5 billion and $10 billion and would cost an additional $160 million to operate effectively.

And likely Arizona voters say they’re willing to pay more for water projects if the state properly and responsibly invests taxpayer dollars. The poll finds that 43% of likely voters are willing to pay an additional $10 dollars or more on their monthly water bills to help fund water conservation systems and acquire new water sources for the state. Twenty-nine percent of voters will invest less than $10 additionally, and only 19% say they’re not willing to pay more.

The poll also finds that Arizonans are not overly concerned about the amount of water Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) new $12 billion dollar fab in north Phoenix will consume. There is strong support for the project, with 80% of poll respondents supporting the new semiconductor chip facility currently under construction.

Arizonans believe the overall impact of TSMC’s expansion in Arizona will be positive regardless of the plant’s water usage. Likely voters say the plant will reduce America’s reliance on China’s semiconductor production and supply chains will greatly improve, outweighing any potential detriments.

Alloy Analytics polled likely voters from October 18-24. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.7% and a confidence interval of 95%.

This story was originally published by Chamber Business News.