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<\/p>\nMuch of the sparkley blue stuff that runs through Scottsdale is going away for about a month.<\/p>\n
The Salt River Project is drying up the canal between 68th Street and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community \u2014\u00ad a stretch of about eight miles \u00ad\u00ad\u2014 from Jan. 8 to Feb. 7 for maintenance.<\/p>\n
The work will consist of:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Replacing an underground pipeline.
\u2022 Completing routine maintenance – such as clearing dirt and weeds from the canal.
\u2022 Repairing sections of the canal damaged by flooding from substantial storms late in 2025.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the walk and bike path along both sides of the canal between McDonald Road and Chaparral Road will be closed during the same time period to repair a water pipeline beneath the canal that transports untreated groundwater to the North Indian Bend Wash granular activated carbon treatment facility.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWater deliveries to Valley residents will not be impacted,\u201d a press release from SRP said, though it added that some customers in the north who use water for irrigation will be cut off during the dry up.<\/p>\n
The White Amur Fish, sometimes called Grass Carp, in the canal that are in there to keep it clean of weeds will be rounded up and relocated during the dry up.<\/p>\n
SRP drys up various sections of the canal every year, generally in the winter when the water demand is the lowest, for routine maintenance but the last time it did it in Scottsdale was 2018 and before that was in 2010.<\/p>\n
In fact, it was the 2010 dry up that sparked the celebration that would later become known as Canal Convergence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe canal didn\u2019t look great when it was dried up so the idea of bringing in some art was a way to make it a little nicer looking,\u201d said Scottsdale Arts spokesman Brian Passey.<\/p>\n
The activation at the Waterfront was then expanded in 2013 into what is known today as the Canal Convergence. It was held two times a year back then as a four-day event in November and March.<\/p>\n
And as the event grew in popularity \u00ad\u2014 hosting more than 70 art workshops in 2025 \u2014 it was converted into the beloved, 10-day event in November it is now.<\/p>\n
Please submit comments at yourvalley.net\/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.<\/p>\n
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J. Graber
News Editor | Scottsdale<\/p>\n