[another cricket]

deposits thousands of gallons of water - drinkable but a little too salty for irrigation - onto the bone dry high prairie.

A small distillation plant would solve this problem wouldn't it? You could then used the water for irrigation if you wished.

a.cricket

[Salgak]

Heck, if it's THAT wide open, you can use a solar still to purify the water, let the tree-huggers complain about THAT. . .