Rio Salado gets a boost
Urban Waters Federal Partnership designation is a key step to begin its transformation
The Salt River. Rio Salado. And, of course, the Gila and Verde. This was the source of water the earliest inhabitants of our region engineered to make the desert bloom more than a millenia ago and whose infrastructure inspired the contemporary canal system we depend upon today.
In spite of a challenging environment, continual innovation over generations has enabled Phoenix to become the fifth-largest city in the fastest growing region in the entire country.
The Salt River no longer exhibits her original characteristics; the diversion of water along much of its length supports our modern-day presence.
And yet, when and where we have chosen to think creatively, collaborated, and dedicated resources to reimagine and create a new relationship with her, the results have been transformative: the Tres Rios Wetlands, the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, and the most visible manifestation in the center of the region, Tempe Town Lake.
Partnerships make great things happen, and a very significant one at the federal level is about to commence.
These and other public amenities are the result of extraordinary partnerships that have connected citizens, professionals and elected leaders in the same ways that the flowing river once did, bringing vitality and opportunity to all along her banks.
Most probably don’t recall, while visiting or driving over one of the bridges to cross her, that the geography of Tempe Town Lake is actually a major flood control project.
A complex partnership of the federal Army Corps of Engineers, the Maricopa County Flood Control District, the city of Tempe and others literally re-channeled the river bottom to support the lake itself and protect the surrounding areas from 100- and 500-year flooding events.
Partnerships make great things happen, which is why we are so pleased that a very significant one at the federal level is about to commence.
And as a demonstration of the unifying power of the Salt River, it touches multiple municipalities and tribal nations and intersects with seven of our nine current Arizona congressional districts along with the entire Arizona congressional delegation signing on in support of this exciting announcement.
Our region is receiving an Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) designation, the only one from the Trump administration and only the 20th in the country.
As will be confirmed in a formal ceremony on Sept. 1, our early ideas to radically transform and connect the Rio Salado will receive streamlined and coordinated access to 15 federal agencies. Grant money also will be available.
The designation is designed to build upon regional efforts already underway and work with local leaders and community-based organizations to expand opportunities. As our work unfolds, we will address matters of water resource planning, economic development, public/private financing models and regional health issues.
Expected federal officials participating in the formal UWFP announcement include David Bernhardt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Dr. James Reilly, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Local representatives responding to the designation will include Gov. Doug Ducey, Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Cindy McCain and Arizona State University President Michael Crow. The public can watch at 11 a.m. on Sept. 1 at https://asunow.asu.edu/asulive.
Such designations and partnerships don’t just happen. They are the result of significant planning and determination, in our case going back to early visionaries and supporters like Dean James Elmore of ASU, Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell, the late U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, and Bill Post and Bill Schrader of the private sector.
The late Sen. John McCain in 2017 suggested to Crow that ASU take a renewed look at the river some 50 years after students and faculty produced the first Rio Salado plan. As he rightly noted, nothing could be more in keeping with the university’s charter, which commits the institution to “... assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.”
What resulted from that conversation has become the impetus of this federal designation, and a Rio Reimagined working framework was codified in 2018.
It’s a commitment by multiple parties intended to open the door to a community-led enterprise and distinctive amenities along the river banks for many decades to come — one that will reflect our all of our citizens, ensures equitable access to resources, and celebrates a diversity of voices in future decision making.
Even before the public announcement, grant funding to Rio-related pro
jects from EPA, USGS, USFS and other agencies in just the last year totaled more than $1 million for local planning and project activity, all of which sets the stage for further investments.
Spurred in part by the UWFP designation, coalitions, collaborations and working groups across the Valley are already forming around topics such as brownfield assessment, stormwater management, habitat restoration, heat mitigation and increased participation by underrepresented voices.
Leaders and professionals of all sectors are reviewing opportunities, needs, challenges, ongoing projects and – most importantly – expressing commitment to work together across municipal, county and tribal boundaries to achieve something at scale commensurate with the aspirations of this vital region.
Rio Reimagined is still in a state of becoming and specific long-range goals and major projects across the jurisdictions are yet to be determined. But this process could include fundable concepts involving infrastructure, parks, recreation, housing and general quality of life improvement issues.
Thankfully, present-day public sec
tor leaders like Mayor Gallego and Governor Lewis, in partnership with private sector and social impact leaders, are acknowledging the exceptional convergence of interests, and their leadership and the momentum behind them all has not gone unnoticed by planners and leaders at the national level.
However, its most impactful outcome may be the elevation of the next generation of leaders – many of whom may be students now – that reflect the interests, needs, and future of the community. The UWFP provides them a platform upon which to build a vision and secure the resources to realize it.
Rio Salado. The Salt River. The source of water for those earliest inhabitants, continues to inspire us all to dream and create a better present day, and a better future for generations to come, our descendants, who have not yet arrived.
And that’s as it should be.