PHOENIX – The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has released its August 24 Month Study, which projects Colorado River operations for the next two years. The study projects the operating conditions of the Colorado River system, as well as runoff and reservoir conditions. The Upper Basin experienced around average snowpack (107%) this year, and the April-July inflow into Lake Powell came in at 52% of average. The below-average projection was due to extremely hot and dry conditions in the Upper Basin during the spring and summer of 2020. Consistent with the 2007 Interim Guidelines, Lake Powell will operate under an annual release of 8.23 million acre-feet in water year 2021 with a potential of an April adjustment up to 9.0 million acre-feet.

The August 24 Month Study projects Lake Mead’s January 1, 2021 elevation to be 1085.28 feet, putting Lake Mead in a Tier Zero condition for 2021. The Study also projects a Tier Zero condition for Lake Mead in 2022 with the projected January 1, 2022 elevation of 1086.90 feet. Tier Zero conditions require a 192,000 acre-foot reduction in Arizona’s 2.8 million acre-foot allocation. The Lower Colorado River Basin is in Tier Zero for 2020. The August 24 month study projects that the Lower Colorado River Basin will remain in the Tier Zero condition in 2021.

 “This is more evidence that the Drought Contingency Plan that was approved by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Governor Ducey in early 2019 was a success,” said Tom Buschatzke, Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

“Its implementation offsets potentially deeper cuts in Arizona’s Colorado River allocation beyond the 192,000 acre-feet that the State annually has stored in Lake Mead for several years.”

These reductions will fall entirely on Central Arizona Project (CAP) supplies, impacting CAP supplies for water banking, replenishment and agricultural users. The Tier Zero reductions will not impact tribal or municipal CAP water users.

While the Tier Zero reductions are significant, they are part of broader efforts being implemented to reduce the near-term risks of deeper reductions to Arizona’s Colorado River supplies. In addition to the Tier Zero reductions to CAP supplies, other programs to conserve and store water are being implemented in Arizona.

These include programs with the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Gila River Indian Community, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), as well as Reclamation. Including the 192,000 acre-foot allocation reduction, Arizona entities conserved a total of 385,000 acre-feet in Lake Mead in 2020.

The August 24 Month Study shows that in the near term, the programs being implemented in Arizona and across the Colorado River system, along with favorable hydrology, have helped avoid a near-term crisis in the Colorado River system. However, we continue to face significant near-term and long-term risks to Arizona’s Colorado River supplies. We have much more work to do to address our shared risks. ADWR and CAWCD have jointly convened Arizona water stakeholders to address these risks and to prepare for new negotiations regarding the long-term operating rules on the Colorado River.

See also:

ADWR Colorado River Current Conditions:

https://new.azwater.gov/crm/dashboard

Bureau of Reclamation August 24-Month Study: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/24mo.pdf

For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at dmaceachern@azwater.gov

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                          MAY 29, 2020                                                          

 

Arizona Department of Water Resources and Audubon Agree to Funding Plan to Conserve Colorado River Water

Fulfilling Drought Contingency Plan commitments and achieving water security for Arizona.

PHOENIX—As part of an overall $38 million effort to bolster Lake Mead surface levels by fallowing irrigable farmland on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in western Arizona, the National Audubon Society has reached an agreement with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to help fund the Colorado River Indian Tribes’ (CRIT) on-going efforts to conserve 150,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead over the next three years.

“Leaving water in Lake Mead for the greater Colorado River system creates more security for people and birds in the arid Southwest,” said Karyn Stockdale, Audubon’s Western Water Initiative Senior Director.

“This is a great first step toward completing an important piece of the funding plan approved by the Steering Committee members and the Arizona Legislature,” said ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke. “I commend the National Audubon Society for recognizing the importance of keeping Lake Mead surface levels as stable and healthy as possible.”

The three-year deal is expected to reduce water demand and add approximately two vertical feet to Lake Mead’s surface levels.

According to the agreement signed on May 21, Audubon—supported by their corporate partner Intel Corporation—will contribute to an Arizona Fund created in 2019 to incentivize the CRIT for creating up to 150,000 acre-feet of system conservation water in Lake Mead, helping to avoid precipitous declines in the Lake.

“I want to thank our partners at Audubon, Intel, and the Arizona Department of Water Resources for their ongoing support of this conservation project,” said Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairman Dennis Patch. “The partnership among the State, nonprofit organizations, corporations and our tribal government demonstrates that working together we can tackle the most enduring water supply challenges. The Colorado River Indian Tribes look forward to continuing to work with our partners ensuring the State of Arizona has a sustainable water future.”

The CRIT offered to forego irrigation water deliveries and fallow approximately 10,000 acres of farmland in exchange for the funding.

The fallowing/funding effort is a part of Arizona’s celebrated agreement among dozens of water users, agencies, tribes and conservation groups statewide in January 2019 to address instability in the Colorado River system through the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). After nearly 20 years of drought in the Colorado River Basin, the DCP is designed to promote conservation, reduce demand, and stabilize water levels in Lake Mead through projects such as the CRIT’s system conservation project.

“Intel is proud to support this vital effort, and to restore water to the community we’ve innovated and invested in for 40 years,” said Liz Shipley, Intel Arizona Public Affairs Director. “Investing in our watershed is an investment in our future.”

Signed May 21, Audubon’s funding contribution agreement with ADWR comes almost exactly one year after the May 20, 2019 signing of the DCP on the Observation Deck of Hoover Dam by the seven Colorado River States and the federal Department of the Interior.

 

Background on System Conservation and DCP

The months-long, public efforts of Arizona’s Steering Committee, led by ADWR Director Buschatzke and Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) General Manager Ted Cooke, opened the door to the State Legislature’s approval of legislation authorizing the ADWR Director to sign the DCP, as well as legislation necessary for the DCP to be implemented in Arizona.

On signing the legislation on January 31, 2019, Governor Doug Ducey hailed the DCP as “the most significant water legislation passed in nearly 40 years.”

The specific terms of the CRIT conservation effort were set out in an agreement by ADWR with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, operator of the Colorado River system, and the CAWCD, which delivers about 1.6 million acre-feet of Arizona’s 2.8 million acre-foot annual allocation to users mainly in central and south-central Arizona.

To fund the CRIT creation of system conservation water in Lake Mead, the State of Arizona appropriated $30 million in budget year 2019/2020. By a separate agreement, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) agreed to deposit $2 million into the Fund by January 31, 2020 and use its best efforts to raise an additional $6 million into the Fund no later than July 15, 2021.

The Audubon contribution is a part of the EDF agreement.  Intel’s leadership support of Audubon made this vital project possible, and also opens up opportunities to leverage additional philanthropic support later this year.

This project demonstrates how the landmark DCP agreement is achieving the goal of creating positive partnerships among entities, fulfilling funding commitments and achieving water security for Arizona.

__

For more information regarding this matter, please contact Shauna Evans, Arizona Department of Water Resources’s Public Information Officer at smevans@azwater.gov or Joey Kahn, National Audubon Society’s Western Water Communications Manager at Joey.kahn@audubon.org.

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     CONTACT: Doug MacEachern or Shauna Evans

March 27, 2020                                             PHONE:  602.771. 8507 or 602.771.8079

A Statement from Arizona’s Water Community on the Security and Resiliency of the State’s Water Supplies

PHOENIX – Water is critical to public health, our quality of life, the desert environment and our economy. That is why we are all doing our part to ensure you always have water at your tap, even during times of concern.

We have planned and invested in robust and resilient water supplies, infrastructure and processes so that your local water provider can deliver you water every day of every year. Through our collaborative efforts, we can bring water from Arizona’s mountains and the Colorado River, and manage our groundwater.

We are each taking extra precautions by implementing resiliency plans that have been developed for times like these to better ensure essential operations continue without interruption and we can fully support local water providers – all of which could not be achieved without the dedicated efforts of all of our employees.

Together we remain committed to safeguarding our water supplies so they remain secure not just for today, but for the future.

See also:

https://bit.ly/2vToKnH

Arizona Department of Water Resources’s “Continuing ADWR Operations While Slowing the Spread” webpage| View ADWR’s Page >

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s “Continuing ADEQ Operations While Slowing the Spread” webpage| View ADEQ’s Page >

Central Arizona Project’s “COVID-19 Updates” webpage | View CAP’s Page >

Salt River Project’s “Watershed Connection” website | View SRP’s Website >

Arizona Municipal Water Users Association “Cities Dedicated to Continued Delivery of Safe and Secure Water” webpage | View AMWUA’s Page >

Governor Ducey’s “Arizona Together” website | View Arizona Together Website >

For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at dmaceachern@azwater.gov or Shauna Evans, Public Information Officer at smevans@azwater.gov.

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     CONTACT: Doug MacEachern or Shauna Evans

March 20, 2020                                             PHONE:  602.771. 8507 or 602.771.8507

ADWR creates new, informational “Continuing Operations” web page

PHOENIX – Like virtually all other government agencies, the Arizona Department of Water Resources has adjusted to the threats posed by the COVID-19 virus while, at the same time, conducting as many public services and core mission functions as
possible.

ADWR is prepared for eventualities such as this one. The Department is well-
positioned to conduct services remotely, with staff working outside the office in
many cases. In the meanwhile, ADWR’s vital mission work of protecting Arizona’s water supplies – while also minimizing exposure risk to staff and customers – remains our top priority.

As part of the Department’s continuing-operations effort, ADWR has created a
new web page – accessible at new.azwater.gov/covid-19 – that will provide updates regarding Department operations in the weeks to come.

The webpage will include up-to-date changes in ADWR operations, as well as links to informational COVID-19 websites, such as the Environmental Protection
Agency’s statement regarding the safety of drinking water.

See also:

https://bit.ly/3bcspMi

For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at dmaceachern@azwater.gov or Shauna Evans, Public Information Officer at smevans@azwater.gov.

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   CONTACT: Shauna Evans

Jan. 30, 2020                                                                                          PHONE: 602.771.8079

 

Arizona Department of Water Resources conducting “basin sweep” to collect water level measurements in the Tucson and Santa Cruz Active Management Areas & Cienega Creek and San Rafael Basins

PHOENIX – Beginning the week of February 10, and continuing for several months, Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) field services staff will be making an extensive effort to measure water levels in wells in the Tucson and Santa Cruz Active Management Areas (AMAs) & Cienega Creek and San Rafael Basins.

ADWR staff will attempt to measure water levels at hundreds of wells in these AMAs and basins.  This survey of wells – or basin “sweep,” as it is known — will be the first such basin survey of the area since 2016. The data collected will be used for several purposes, including:

• Analysis of water-level trends
• Groundwater modeling
• Water-level change maps
• Hydrologic reports
• Water resource planning and management

The general area covered by this basin sweep is the southern portion of the state and extends from the U.S. – Mexico border to north of Tucson.

For more information regarding this matter, please contact Public Information Officer Shauna Evans at smevans@azwater.gov or (602) 771-8079.

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“Collaborative efforts with the United States, the Basin States and their water users and Mexico have been key to the success of managing water supplies, creating resiliency against drought and a more sustainable Colorado River…” –  Tom Buschatzke, Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

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