Last week, the Central Arizona Project (CAP) and more than 20 cities in Arizona announced that they were banding together to fight for their state’s share of the Colorado River. CAP delivers river water to Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties through a system more than 330 miles long. The effort by CAP and the cities, including Phoenix and Tucson, comes as Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the country, was predicted by the federal Bureau of Reclamation to drop to its lowest level ever within two years.
Water flowing on the Colorado River near Moab, Utah. | Credit: USGS
The region has suffered drought for over 20 years, and is drying, or aridifying, because of climate change. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder shows that human activity is playing a more intense and direct role in that aridification than previously thought. The Bureau announced on August 15 that Arizona, Nevada, as well as Mexico, will have their river allocations cut substantially for the third year in a row based upon the two-year prediction.
Arizona, along with California and Nevada are the three states in the Lower Basin of the River, and they have been negotiating with the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico, to try to reach an agreement on how to cut allocations because of the shrinking water supply. Current agreements will expire at the end of next year.
The Upper Basin states say that the Lower Basin has used most of the river’s water, while those in the Upper Basin use three to four million acre-feet less than their apportionment every year. According to the Arizona Republic, Becky Mitchell, Colorado’s commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission, has said that the Upper Basin cannot be expected to cut back from its current uses to make up for climate change. Those in the Lower Basin argue that the water they use is essential for the nation’s agriculture, manufacturing, and families.
The coalition of Arizona cities and CAP say they need to act now because of overallocation and the unwillingness of some to protect the river’s future. Brenda Burman, the director of the CAP, told KJZZ that they will expand their coalition to include farms and other water users. She also said that California, Nevada, and Mexico have stepped up to cut their allocations, and that other water users must be part of the solution.
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