Phoenix officials say the city has spent decades preparing for exactly the kind of Colorado River reductions now being proposed by the federal government – but they argue Arizona is being asked to shoulder an unfair share of the burden.
Their reaction came July 31 after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its proposed Final Environmental Impact Statement outlining alternatives for managing the Colorado River through 2036 as the Southwest grapples with one of the worst long-term droughts in recorded history.
About 40% of Phoenix’s municipal water supply comes from the Colorado River through the Central Arizona Project, while roughly 58% comes from the Salt and Verde river systems and about 2% from groundwater…