Using Recharge and Recovery to Meet Water Management Objectives in Arizona

Central Arizona water suppliers and users utilize Arizona’s well-designed statutory framework for water storage and recovery to meet water management objectives.  Water banking, other long-term water storage, annual storage and recovery, and groundwater replenishment programs continue to be important vehicles for (1) preparing for future Colorado River shortage conditions, (2) providing a mechanism for meeting 100-year assured water supply requirements, and (3) offering an alternative or supplemental approach to treating surface water and effluent.  The presentation will provide an overview of Arizona groundwater storage and how integral these storage and recovery programs are for meeting Arizona’s water management objectives.  The focus will be on the region served by the Central Arizona Project (CAP), a large constructed project that conveys Colorado River water to Arizona’s metropolitan areas, such as Phoenix and Tucson.  The CAP will experience significant water supply curtailment when a Colorado River shortage is declared by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.   The presentation will discuss achievements realized during the 20 years since passage of the Underground Water Storage Act, as well as the challenges associated with groundwater use in Central Arizona.