It saddens me that this story, which is perhaps the most significant news story for Arizona this year, was nearly pushed off the front page of the Arizona Republic by the story regarding the Mitchell Report and steroids usage in baseball. Yes, steroids are bad. Yes, we should work to get them out of professional sports. But I think ensuring the water supply in Arizona is just a little more important than 68 baseball players that allegedly took steroids. But I digress…
Thursday, the seven Colorado River states (Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, California, Wyoming, and New Mexico) agreed to a revised plan for the usage of the water from the Colorado River. The states had been operating primarily under the agreement struck in 1922. Things have changed since 1922, and accordingly, there was the strong possibility of litigation over water usage from some states.
That agreement in 1922, which we in Arizona have Barry Goldwater largely to thank, enabled the construction of the Central Arizona Project (CAP), a canal system that diverts water from the Colorado river to Phoenix and Tucson. Without that agreement, Phoenix would surely not have had enough water to grow to the size it is today. Accordingly, the construction of the CAP is one of the most significant factors in the development of Phoenix and Tucson. I honestly cannot imagine what this city would look like, if not for the CAP. I feel fairly confident I would never have lived here, as it was the steady growth of the city that brought the employment that brought my family here over 20 years ago.
The new agreement has give-and-take in it for all of the states involved. To say that any state was a clear winner would be misleading. For Arizona, we now have some incentive not to take our full allotment of water each year, as we are allowed to store unneeded water in the Lake Mead reservoir. In 1996, Arizona started taking its full allotment of water and storing what wasn’t used in underground aquifers, to save the water for a non-rainy day. Arizona can now stop doing this and is given credit for keeping the water in Lake Mead.
As well, the Lake Mead and Lake Powell reservoirs will be managed together, rather than independently. The water level in Lake Mead is a trigger point for conservation practices, so combining the management of the two lakes puts more capacity into play for understanding when conservation is needed.
Missing from the agreement was the country of Mexico. If shortages occur, the federal government will need to negotiate with Mexico over how much of its share can be granted.
As a final bit of commentary, I want to give my kudos to all of the people that negotiated this deal. For Arizona, we have Department of Water Resources Director Herb Guenther highest on our list to thank. Assured water supply in Arizona is vital to the long term growth of the major population centers of Phoenix and Tucson, and this agreement, which extends through 2026, gives added certainty to the opportunity for further growth. The water coming out of our faucets may not taste great, but dang, it sure is better than no water at all.
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