Lost in the election new, the most important story on the front page of this morning's Journal is probably Rosalie Rayburn's story on the results of Sandoval County's search for water on Albuquerque's northwest side:

Testing completed this week in the Rio Puerco basin has revealed an aquifer of briny water large enough to supply a city of 300,000 people for 100 years, according to county officials.

"The implications for Sandoval County are huge," said County Commissioner Jack Thomas, who spearheaded the water-drilling project. He cited possible new manufacturing plants, jobs and economic development for communities west of the Rio Grande.

Well, maybe. But you can color me skeptical of Thomas's claims for now.

As I wrote a year ago when this issue first emerged, there are some big problems here that you can't just wish away with economic development enthusiasm:

• Cost. Desalinated water is more expensive. El Paso Water Utilities estimates it costs more than three times as much as clean groundwater.
• Waste. All the salt and other minerals taken out of the drinking water have to go somewhere.
• Supply. Critics charge that a switch to relying on brackish groundwater merely repeats a mistake in the arid West— basing our water future on an unsustainable supply.