Deal Made for Phoenix Water Supply

The capitol city of Arizona has made a deal to help solve a huge water problem. The State of Arizona relies heavily on the Colorado River for their water supply. The river that also supplies resources to California and Nevada is drying up and drying up quickly. By next year Arizona will lose 12 percent of its supply of the river. This means serious cutbacks for farming, a halt in new housing subdivisions, and increased water rates for residents. [1] To guarantee long-term emergency water supply the Phoenix City Council has entered into a partnership with the Salt River Project (SRP) for the next 40 years. The deal made between Phoenix & SRP provides an additional 20,000 acre-feet of water for emergency use. [2]

SRP operates and maintains an irrigation system of dams, canals and groundwater wells located within the Salt River Reservoir District. They deliver more than 325 billion gallons of water to Phoenix Valley municipal, industrial, agricultural and urban irrigation systems each year. [3] On July 1^st  Phoenix’s water service area will reap more of the benefits of SRP’s vast water resources. For the next forty years 2.5% of SRP’s groundwater supply will be reserved to assist Phoenix in time of extreme drought. [4] Mayor Greg Stanton describes the deal as, “another example of how cities can work with strategic partners to safeguard against continued drought and climate change.” [5]

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