Arizona Water Officials Consider Shortage In Colorado River
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A cutback in Arizona’s portion of the Colorado River could be on the horizon. But officials met in Phoenix on Wednesday to reassure water users the state is doing all it can to prevent that.
They say that even after more than a decade of drought, Arizona has enough water to get by. Still, the outlook isn’t good, either. In 2017, the federal government is forecasting the level in Lake Mead will be very close to the first trigger. If that’s revised down and the lake drops a foot and a half or so, Arizona will lose water — more than any other state.
But Thomas Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said the state has plenty of water stored away to last even extreme cutbacks, unlike California.
“They are in a crisis. They have got to the point where their demand far outstrips their supplies," said Buschatzke. "The goal we are trying to achieve is that we will not be in the position that they’ve been in.”
To help with that, Arizona is leaving some of its share of water in Lake Mead in hopes that will prevent it from dropping a few extra feet in 2017 or sooner.
