Arizona will absorb steep cuts to its Colorado River water supply over the next two years, but not the “catastrophic” cuts that federal officials were floating just a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
The Trump Administration settled on Colorado River cutbacks that were negotiated by Arizona, California and Nevada.\u00a0<\/p>\n
>> Live, local, breaking.<\/strong>\u00a0Download the 12News app<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Under that agreement, Arizona will see the largest cuts – 31% of annual water deliveries.<\/p>\n Arizona’s large cut results from agreements and court fights over water rights more than 100 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n The result was that Arizona got the lowest priority for Colorado water in times of shortages, and California the highest priority. That’s what the state is living with today.\u00a0<\/p>\n The City of Phoenix has been preparing for this day.<\/p>\n The city’s plan starts with dipping into an emergency water bank for the first time since its creation more than 35 years ago.<\/p>\n One of the next steps: higher water bills. The goal: building a sustainable source of water that could more than supplement the collapsing Colorado River.\u00a0<\/p>\n “All of the climate indications are that that problem is going to continue to get worse, not better, as we move forward,” Max Wilson, water resource management advisor for the City of Phoenix, said in an interview at City Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We have to work together to reduce our use.”<\/p>\n Thirty percent of the water that Phoenix delivers to taps comes from the Colorado River.<\/p>\n Wilson sketched out Phoenix’s plan for dealing with the cuts. It starts with making the first-ever water withdrawals from the underground Arizona Water Bank.<\/p>\n “No shortages are good,” he said. “We don’t want to ever be experiencing them. But this water was placed there for the exact purpose of having this backup if we found ourselves in a position like this.”<\/p>\n The water withdrawal is a break-the-glass moment that reflects the severity of the Colorado crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s very painful to tap your emergency savings account,” said Sarah Porter, director of Arizona State University’s Kyl Center for Water Policy.<\/p>\n “There are a lot of people who really have a lot of heartburn about this.”<\/p>\n The water bank stores surplus Colorado River water that’s been diverted by Phoenix and other communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the new cutbacks, Porter said, there won’t be any surplus to replenish the water that’s being withdrawn.<\/p>\n Drawing down the water bank to make up for Colorado River shortages would give Phoenix time to build a bridge to sustainable water supplies.\u00a0<\/p>\n How much time? Wilson said it might be 5 to 10 years.<\/p>\n “We’re already working right now on deploying the next generation of resources to make sure that we’re ready to go when that day comes,” he said.<\/p>\n Those sustainable water supplies are three water purification plants. The first could come online late next year, and the largest plant in the mid-2030s. The cost: hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n The cost of those projects and others will show up in water customers’ monthly bills.<\/p>\n “It’s safe to say that these projects are going to require significant rate increases moving forward,” Wilson said.<\/p>\n Phoenix’s water rates have jumped 28% in the last three years. Other cities in the Phoenix area have seen large water rate increases.<\/p>\n Also in the city’s plan: conservation measures for residents and impact fees for developers are in the works.<\/p>\n But still it might not be enough, Porter said. She called the Colorado River’s status “precarious.”<\/p>\n “There’s no guarantee that the cuts that were announced today will be the only cuts that Arizona experiences,” Porter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two reservoirs for Colorado River water – Lake Powell and Lake Mead – \u00a0are at their lowest water levels on record. They supply water and hydroelectric power to 40 million people in the West.<\/p>\n “We’re at a very precarious point in the reservoirs on the Colorado River,” Porter said.<\/p>\n “Another bad winter, and it’s a whole new world for us of much deeper cuts.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Watch 12News for free\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere, thanks to the 12News streaming app!\u00a0<\/p>\n The free 12News streaming app from 12News lets users stream live events \u2014 including daily newscasts like “Today in AZ” and “12 News” and our daily lifestyle program, “Arizona Midday”\u2014on\u00a0Roku<\/a> and\u00a0Amazon Fire TV<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n 12News app showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.\u00a0<\/p>\n Roku:\u00a0Add the channel from the Roku store<\/a> or by searching for “12 News KPNX.”\u00a0<\/p>\n