Yumans join drought plan committee
Rep., attorney invited to meeting
Two Yumans are among 37 people who have been appointed to a statewide steering committee being formed to finalize the water-conserving Drought Contingency Plan.
Wade Noble, a longtime water-rights attorney who represents four of the area’s seven irrigation districts, and state Rep. Lisa Otondo, D-Yuma, were invited to join the group, which will have its first meeting on Thursday in Phoenix.
Otondo said she and other leaders who have been active on the issue of the state’s water supply are finding themselves inundated with meetings as the likelihood of a shortage declaration on the Colorado River increases.
“There’s still the Governor’s Water Augmentation Committee, I’m going to that next week, I think, and there’s still several meeting with that,” she said. “There are several individuals from other water groups who are on the steering committee, so hopefully all of the interests will be represented.”
Noble, who will have another attorney from his office, Meghan Scott, serve as his alternate on the committee, said he’s satisfied with the amount of representation the county will have in the group.
“Most areas like ours didn’t get that heavy a representation, and really, it’s kind of a smaller committee,” he said.
He and Otondo both said they didn’t want to get too far ahead of the committee by talking about what could happen before it started meeting, but were ready to report back to Yuma locals once discussions begin.
The new committee is scheduled to meet twice a month through November, and the goal is to have a DCP ready for the state Legislature to act on, as is required, by the start of the next regular session in January.
“In a group where we’re preparing legislation or discussing potential needs for legislation, I’m sure whatever the group comes out with will be vetted through the other interests” included on the steering committee, Otondo said.
Known for organizing lunchtime study sessions about water issues during the session, Otondo is one of four legislators on the steering committee. Her alternate will be Sen. Andrea Dalessandro, D-Sahuarita.
The Arizona Department of Water Resources and Central Arizona Project are forming the group after agreeing in May to collaborate and complete Arizona’s part of the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP), after a series of disputes between them ended up bringing negotiations to a halt.
The proposed DCP is essentially a series of conservation measures taken by users throughout the Colorado River basin aiming to prop up the elevation of Lake Mead.
If that number drops below 1,075 feet above sea level, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will declare a water shortage on the Colorado for the following calendar year, triggering reductions
in deliveries to users based on a 2007 agreement among the seven basin states and Mexico. It was just above 1,077 feet as of Friday afternoon. That agreement, under which Yuma users would be among the last to face mandatory cutbacks because of the seniority of its water rights, expires in 2026, which means the region needs to come up a new or modified agreement, Noble said.
“If we don’t get DCP done, then everything comes to a crashing halt and the Secretary of the Interior comes in and says, ‘this is how it’ll be,’” which could leave the states with little or no say in what comes next, Noble said.
According to BOR projections, based on hydrology trends from the last 30 years there’s an up to 70 percent chance of a Stage 1 shortage declaration for 2020, soaring to 90 percent the following year, if no changes are made.
Potential for a Stage 2 shortage at 1,050 is growing as well, from 30 percent in 2021 to nearly 80 percent in 2025, under the same scenarios.
As envisioned, the DCP will include users agreeing to leave more of their water in the river and make
other conservation steps to avoid or delay additional cutbacks. Each state is to come up with its own piece, and many believe Arizona is lagging on its plan.
Yuma County users, especially from the agricultural sector, are generally very protective of their Colorado River allotments, particularly at the thought of transferring water to the state’s metro areas.
But when it comes to leaving water in Lake Mead, Noble thinks the situation is dire enough that “when they get to different elevations, we are going to have to come in. Don’t know which elevation we come in at — 1,050, 1,040, 1,030 may be too late.”
Otondo said, “I don’t see this steering committee, in any way trying to come after Yuma’s water. I think the preventative measures need to take place with the DCP so we continue to have a safe water supply, in the state as a whole.”
Part of the reason is a falling lake level will also affect the region’s power supply, by reducing the pressure on water turbines embedded into Hoover and Glen Canyon dams. Utilities in California and Arizona depend on that energy, Noble said, and the amount available will drop with the elevation, until it disappears at about 1,025 feet, or a Stage 3 shortage.
Members will also have to consider tribal water rights, the gaps in agreement between ADWR and CAP, the status of another effort to adopt statewide conservation measures called DCP Plus, and more, leaving a lot for the committee to resolve in the next four months.
Regarding the chances of getting that done, Noble said, “I know as much as everyone else, so sure, why not?”