Phoenix-area cities say they want answers about plans for a pool of water that’s stored underground as a backup during dry times on the Colorado River. City leaders say the Arizona Water Banking Authority is keeping them in the dark about how they might share that water, making it hard for cities to plan for a dryer future. The Water Bank is holding a special meeting Tuesday morning to address some of those questions.
The Water Bank was created in 1996 to store excess Colorado River water underground. Many cities that take water from the Central Arizona Project — the 336-mile canal system that brings Colorado River water to the Valley — added water to that bank with the expectation that they could pull it back out if the Colorado River couldn’t provide enough water on the surface.
Now, the Colorado River is dry enough to cause shortages, and cities say the Water Bank isn’t telling them how much water they can expect to get back…