KTAR News: Water Watch

If you think food prices are high now, they could get even higher as additional Colorado River water cuts are on the way. About 70% of the state's water supply goes to agriculture, but cutting ag means less food. Pinal County cotton farmer Todd Thelander says he first experienced water cuts in 2022. 

The city of Scottsdale is looking to acquire new water sources as it braces for Colorado River water cuts. Scottsdale gets about 70% of its water supply from the Central Arizona Project - Colorado River Water. Mayor Lisa Borowsky said the city is working to purchase 15,000 acre-feet of water for $8.25 million. 

Arizona water agencies have taken a key step that could eventually allow the state to buy desalinated water from Southern California. CAP, the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the Nevada Water Authority have all signed a memorandum of understanding with a desalination plant in Carlsbad. CAP President Terry Goddard says there are a lot of legal complications because there is no existing framework to move Colorado River water across state lines. 

Arizona has received a $20 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to address PFAs in our drinking water. PFAs, also known as forever chemicals, are compound chemicals found in waterproof clothing, nonstick cookware like Teflon and foam used by fire fighters. Luis Garcia Bakarich with the EPA water division says PFAs have migrated into our groundwater and surface water. 

The City of Phoenix is modeling the behavior it would like to see from its residents when it comes to water conservation. Phoenix Vice-Mayor Kesha Hodge Washinton says the city's Aviation Department has saved 27-million gallons annually by replacing grass with native vegetation and updating airport cooling towers. 

A judge sided with the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona when it ruled the Arizona Department of Water Resources can't use what the judge called new rules to prevent developers from building. Developers were prevented from building in the West Valley because any new subdivision would deplete the aquifer in the East Valley. ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke said groundwater is all connected. Representing the Home Builders Association, Vice President of Litigation for the Goldwater Institute Jon Riches said this new standard hurt the housing market. 

A judge sided with the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona when it ruled the Arizona Department of Water Resources can't use what the judge called new rules to prevent developers from building. Developers were prevented from building in the West Valley because any new subdivision would deplete the aquifer in the East Valley. ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke said groundwater is all connected. Representing the Home Builders Association, Vice President of Litigation for the Goldwater Institute Jon Riches said this new standard hurt the housing market. 

The three lower basin states, Arizona, California and Nevada, have come to an agreement on how to conserve more than 3 million acre feet of Colorado River water over the next 2 years. Arizona is committing to a 27% mandatory reduction of its Colorado River supply or 10% of the state's total annual water use. 

The City of Peoria is undertaking a $40 million project to drill three new groundwater wells to be able to meet demand. The extra wells are to prepare for potential Colorado River water cuts as Peoria gets about 60% of their water supply from the Central Arizona Project. The groundwater wells are also needed to support the Amkor semiconductor packaging facility coming to the area. 

The City of Phoenix says it is not running out of water but will need to tap into backup supplies to meet demand over the next 10 years. Phoenix recently looked at its water supply and demand then evaluated how potential Colorado River water cuts will impact its water management. 

There's a new bipartisan push to secure drought resiliency funding for the Southwest. Arizona U.S. Representatives Greg Stanton and Andy Biggs sent a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation asking for at least $450 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to be released for water projects. Biggs says it should be used to get the desalination plant in Yuma up and running. 

Salt River Project is confident they have enough water to meet demand following a warmer than normal spring. The entire SRP reservoir system, as whole, is about 54% full right now. SRP Senior Hydrologist Jake Richardson says while we had decent rain in the fall, low snowpack and an unseasonably warm spring made it difficult for much for that water runoff to reach the reservoirs. 

Volunteers filled up an entire dumpster with trash following a cleanup at the Tres Rios wetlands earlier this month. The annual cleanup happens every April to coincide with Earth Month. Phoenix Water Assistant Director Nazario Prieto says while there is an illegal dumping problem, sometimes folks recreating out there leave their trash behind too. 

The U.S. Geological Survey has a new AI tool to predict drought conditions of the nation's rivers up to three months out. The free public tool from the USGS shows 80% of Arizona's rivers are in streamflow drought as of this week, with no signs of improving. 

The Bureau of Reclamation will likely be making a decision on a new Colorado River operating agreement in the next two weeks. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum tells the Mike Broomhead Show the more than 100-year-old treaty was created during a wet cycle, adding some cuts will have to be implemented due to sustained drought. 

Arizona looks to desalination to secure new water supplies. Desalination is the process of taking ocean water and removing the salt. Startup OceanWell is still in the research and development phase. Their technology is different from onshore desalination because it takes place 400 meters below the ocean's surface and uses water pressure to save on energy costs. 

Arizona's first Advanced Water Purification plant is about three years out from taking wastewater and making it drinkable. The City of Phoenix celebrated being halfway done with construction at the Cave Creek facility by filling up a treatment basin with one million gallons of water last week. It's part of the Pure Water Phoenix program. 

The Community Water Project Acceleration Act would speed up the time it takes cities and towns to receive federal funding for smaller water projects. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works projects with limited federal funding would be allowed a categorical exclusion to bypass the environmental assessment, which can face years long delays, in order to receive money more quickly. 

The Northern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement is asking for $5 billion in federal funding to be implement. Arizona U.S. Senator Mark Kelly pleaded with Congressional members to fund the measure that guarantees water sources for the Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes. 

Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton hopes any Colorado River water rights deal will be split equally among the upper and lower basins. He says disproportionate water cuts for Arizona would be unfair because we lead the way in terms of water conservation. 

February's snowstorm in the high country hopes to produce ample snowmelt runoff for the watersheds. Salt River Project was out on the Verde River watershed last week to measure the snowpack and calculate how much water it will produce. SRP Senior Hydrologist Stephen Flora says they went to Happy Jack to measure the snow water equivalent in the Verde River watershed. 

The U.S. Department of Interior is working on a Colorado River water rights settlement after the seven basin states failed to come to an agreement by the February 14th deadline. Arizona U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego believes a federal settlement will be more favorable for Arizona as opposed to a seven-state agreement. 

The Feb. 14 deadline has passed, and the basin states still don't have a new Colorado River operating agreement amid historic drought. Central Arizona Project President Terry Goddard tells Arizona's Morning News it's the longest, continuous reduction in precipitation in roughly 1,000 years. Lakes Powell and Mead are dangerously close to dead pool. The basin states have until the end of the year to finalize a new operating agreement into state and federal law. 

A new experimental technology called cloud seeding is being used in Arizona to produce more rain. About 30 cloud seeding tests were done in Pinal County last summer. The project cost nearly $220,000 to execute and produced about 34,000-acre feet of rain, for a water cost of roughly $6.50 an acre foot.  

Proposed legislation would allow New York City hedge fund Water Asset Management to sell water from the McMullen Valley aquifer, in Western Arizona, to municipalities in the Valley. Wenden residents worry this will further deplete the aquifer, while WAM maintains they can help extend the life of the aquifer.