Phoenix sets the example when it comes to the West and water.
Securing reliable water supplies is a Western problem, and Arizona is in the middle of that existential challenge. States that rely on Colorado River water have to continue working together for that sake of mutual survival. That’s a given. So is the need for creativity and longterm planning.
An agreement among the Gila River Indian Community, the Arizona Department of Water Resources, the city of Phoenix and the Walton Family Foundation is an example of the cooperation and foresight that’s been typical of Arizona’s approach.
The agreement is an excellent model for how to move ahead, and a timely reminder that the need for long-term conservation efforts is not negated by one wet winter.
This plan not only helps Phoenix secure its water future, it also serves the Gila River Indian Community’s ongoing goal of restoring the Gila River riparian area.
Under the agreement, Phoenix will bank some its Central Arizona Project water allotment in the Gila River tribe’s aquifer.
The tribe gets to see life return to a river that was a critical part of its culture before dams and diversions left it dry.
Phoenix gets water credits that can be used in the future.
“Solving our most difficult long-term water challenges like the over-allocation of Colorado River water will require innovation and collaboration,” said Mayor Greg Stanton said in a press release announcing the agreement.
“Today we are embarking on a creative new way for the Gila River Indian Community, Phoenix, and others to help build drought resiliency together to protect the Colorado and Lake Mead for the long run,” he added.
The tribe is a good partner to have. As a result of a 2004 water settlement, the Gila River community controls a sizable share of CAP water.
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir on the Colorado River, has been facing critical shortages during a long drought. Arizona has a lot to lose if the water level drops so low that automatic reductions in supply are triggered. Our state takes the first cuts when allocations are reduced.
Creative conservation efforts like the one between Phoenix and the Gila River community have helped prevent shortages in previous years.
It’s worth remembering the value of these strategies.
Higher snow levels this winter in the northern Rockies mean more water will flow into Lake Mead. While this is great news, it also has some Arizona water experts seeing less need to pursue conservation.
CAP’s water policy director, Suzanne Ticknor, told the Arizona Daily Star: “We don’t need to do huge volumes of conservation right now.”
Others disagree with the notion that one good year negates the need to plan for the dry times.
Among those who want to continue to pursue ambitious state and regional water conservation plans for the sake of Lake Mead are Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke, as well as the heads of the Tucson and Phoenix water departments and the Gila River Indian Community.
It’s worth pausing to praise what Phoenix and the Gila River community, led by Mayor Stanton, Phoenix Water Services Director Kathryn Sorensen and Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, are doing, because it shows the multiple benefits of working together to address the complex needs and challenges involving water.
The key to securing enough water for our current population and future growth is working with partners — across state and other jurisdictional lines — to find long-term conservation plans that have widespread benefits.
Careful planning can ensure Arizona will continue to have the water it needs to grow and prosper.