Water deal shows benefits of Arizonans collaborating

Scarcity has a way of concentrating the mind. And, at the moment, the American West is concentrated on a wavering line that intersects the Arizona-Nevada border. When the water level at Lake Mead reaches or drops below 1,075 feet above sea level, the federal government will declare a shortage and trigger the first of tiered reductions in water supplies to states.

Today, that water level hovers about 1,081 feet above sea level, only a few feet from declaration.

A generational drought intensified by climate change and massive population growth has put the Colorado Basin states on crisis footing.

If we are to continue to prosper as communities into the distant future, we will need to work together to solve the problem of water scarcity.

That is why the “consummation” Thursday of the five-party water-conservation agreement in Phoenix is so important. It demonstrates in deed the kind of creative cooperation that is essential if the West is to meet the greatest threat on its horizon.

The city of Phoenix, the Gila River Indian Community, the state of Arizona, the federal government and the Walton Family Foundation have joined together to forge a plan that will expand the supplies of the Colorado River.

The Gila River Indian Community will leave 40,000 acre-feet of its 2017 Colorado River allocation in Lake Mead. In turn, the city of Phoenix, the state of Arizona and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will each pay the tribe $2 million. The Walton Family Foundation will pitch in $1 million.

“Today’s agreement and the Community’s ongoing effort to protect the Colorado River carry immense importance for our people and our neighbors across the Southwest,” said Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis. “Being good stewards of this most sacred resource is a part of who we are as a people and what the Gila River Indian Community has stood for across time.”

The tribe’s contribution to the deal amounts to 13 billion gallons of water, reported The Arizona Republic’s Alden Woods. That is equivalent to about 35 percent of Phoenix’s annual consumer use.

The stage was set for this week’s pact in March, when Phoenix pledged to store 3,800 acre-feet of its water in aquifers along the Gila River, thus restoring its flow.

In turn, the city was able to set aside some of its Colorado River water to be drawn during future shortages.

All the major players in this agreement are demonstrating model conduct for difficult days ahead as the Western states work their way through a crisis that stretches into the foreseeable future.

“This is an incredible partnership among many parties,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said. “This agreement today is one of the many ways the city of Phoenix is leading the way to make our city and our state more resilient than ever.”

Stanton earned this moment. He deserves applause for the accomplishment, as do Lewis, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, the state Legislature, federal officials, the Walton Foundation and, not least, the water mavens: Phoenix Water Services Director Kathryn Sorensen and Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke.

The ripples of this agreement move beyond the state of Arizona to our Western neighbors, declaring that the people of Arizona are ready to work together to solve one of the great challenges of this American century.