Rain and melted snow from mountain forests in northern and eastern Arizona pass through the Verde River system and into Horseshoe and Bartlett dams, where the water is transported by Salt River Project’s canals to water taps in the Valley.
But over seven decades, that water has been depositing natural sediment at the bottom of Horseshoe and Bartlett reservoirs, reducing their combined ability to store water by about 15%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 2021 survey. As the Verde River flows south into Salt River, both together supply roughly 40% of the surface water for the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Today, the federal agency estimates that Horseshoe Reservoir loses approximately 500 acre-feet of storage capacity and Bartlett Reservoir 180 acre-feet annually from that sedimentation. An acre-foot typically serves three single-family homes for a year.
Mesa and 22 other Valley municipalities, tribal and agricultural entities are partnering with SRP and the Reclamation Bureau on a feasibility study to evaluate four proposed project alternatives to restore and enhance the storage capacity of Verde River water…