Where’s It Coming From?

Nov. 24, 2015
Ec Jk

With many areas affected by drought over the past few years, there’s a lot of attention on new ways to get water where it’s needed—who owns it, who has the rights to it, how to transport it, and how much it costs to get it there. Some areas are importing more water or pumping additional groundwater; others have explored expensive new technologies like desalination plants, or revived old plants that they’d previously built and then mothballed because of the expense of running them.

But water shortages are not new, especially not in the growing Southwest. It’s been more than 40 years since one of the largest projects of its type—moving millions of gallons of water through the desert—began. The Central Arizona Project (CAP) carries 1.5 million acre-feet of water a year from the Colorado River through more than 300 miles of canals and aqueducts to the major metropolitan areas of Phoenix, in the central part of the state, and Tucson, in the southern part.

With many areas affected by drought over the past few years, there’s a lot of attention on new ways to get water where it’s needed—who owns it, who has the rights to it, how to transport it, and how much it costs to get it there. Some areas are importing more water or pumping additional groundwater; others have explored expensive new technologies like desalination plants, or revived old plants that they’d previously built and then mothballed because of the expense of running them. But water shortages are not new, especially not in the growing Southwest. It’s been more than 40 years since one of the largest projects of its type—moving millions of gallons of water through the desert—began. The Central Arizona Project (CAP) carries 1.5 million acre-feet of water a year from the Colorado River through more than 300 miles of canals and aqueducts to the major metropolitan areas of Phoenix, in the central part of the state, and Tucson, in the southern part. [text_ad] Work began on the CAP in 1973, and the project was somewhat controversial from the start. I lived in Arizona during that time and remember the debates over the cost of the project ($4 billion in federal funds, much of which the state must pay back over time) and the feasibility of transporting water from so far away—even discussion of whether it was wise for so many people to be moving to areas that lack a more readily available water source. The first water delivery from the CAP, to a community in the northern part of the state, was 30 years ago; it took 19 years from the project’s start until CAP water actually reached Tucson, in 1992. By that time I had long since moved away, but I heard grumbling from some who still lived there about the quality of the water, the taste, and so on. (To be fair, the CAP routinely samples the water and makes results available online, but some people will always grumble about something.) The CAP provides water for municipal users and agriculture, and some of the transported water is stored underground, recharging the aquifers. Last month the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA), realizing that many people receiving CAP water—especially those who’ve moved to Arizona after the project’s completion—really don’t know where their water comes from or how it gets there. AMWUA provided a Q&A about the project in this blog, with everything from the project’s history to how much power is needed to move the water to how much of it evaporates en route. It also details other sources of water throughout the state. I think it’s a well-done effort to make water users think about where this basic resource is coming from. Are there similar efforts in your area to make people aware of the complexities of the water supply? Do you think it’s a worthwhile thing to do? Please discuss in the comments! StormCon Call for Papers: Two Weeks Left StormCon, the only North American event dedicated exclusively to stormwater and surface-water professionals, is seeking abstracts for presentation at StormCon 2016. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Wednesday, December 9. The conference will be held in Indianapolis, IN, August 22–25, 2016. We are looking for abstracts in the following conference tracks:
  • BMP Case Studies
  • Green Infrastructure
  • Stormwater Program Management
  • Advanced Research Topics
  • Water-Quality Monitoring
  • Industrial Stormwater Management
  • Stormwater Management for Solid Waste Facilities
For more information, including the complete call for papers and an online form for submitting your abstract, visit www.StormCon.com.[text_ad use_post='27664']

Work began on the CAP in 1973, and the project was somewhat controversial from the start. I lived in Arizona during that time and remember the debates over the cost of the project ($4 billion in federal funds, much of which the state must pay back over time) and the feasibility of transporting water from so far away—even discussion of whether it was wise for so many people to be moving to areas that lack a more readily available water source. The first water delivery from the CAP, to a community in the northern part of the state, was 30 years ago; it took 19 years from the project’s start until CAP water actually reached Tucson, in 1992. By that time I had long since moved away, but I heard grumbling from some who still lived there about the quality of the water, the taste, and so on. (To be fair, the CAP routinely samples the water and makes results available online, but some people will always grumble about something.) The CAP provides water for municipal users and agriculture, and some of the transported water is stored underground, recharging the aquifers.

Last month the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA), realizing that many people receiving CAP water—especially those who’ve moved to Arizona after the project’s completion—really don’t know where their water comes from or how it gets there. AMWUA provided a Q&A about the project in this blog, with everything from the project’s history to how much power is needed to move the water to how much of it evaporates en route. It also details other sources of water throughout the state. I think it’s a well-done effort to make water users think about where this basic resource is coming from.

Are there similar efforts in your area to make people aware of the complexities of the water supply? Do you think it’s a worthwhile thing to do? Please discuss in the comments!

StormCon Call for Papers: Two Weeks Left

StormCon, the only North American event dedicated exclusively to stormwater and surface-water professionals, is seeking abstracts for presentation at StormCon 2016. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Wednesday, December 9.

The conference will be held in Indianapolis, IN, August 22–25, 2016. We are looking for abstracts in the following conference tracks:

  • BMP Case Studies
  • Green Infrastructure
  • Stormwater Program Management
  • Advanced Research Topics
  • Water-Quality Monitoring
  • Industrial Stormwater Management
  • Stormwater Management for Solid Waste Facilities

For more information, including the complete call for papers and an online form for submitting your abstract, visit www.StormCon.com.

About the Author

Janice Kaspersen

Janice Kaspersen is the former editor of Erosion Control and Stormwater magazines.